The musical features music by Henry Krieger The Tap Dance Kid, Side Show and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen. Dreamgirls premiered at the Imperial Theatre on December 20, 1981, with direction and choreography by the late Michael Bennett. It won six 1982 Tony Awards, famously losing out in the Best Musical category to Nine. Dreamgirls returned to Broadway briefly in 1987, when Bennett brought the national touring version of the show in for a five-month stay at the Ambassador Theatre. It was also presented in concert form in 2001 when the Actors' Fund of America gathered an all-star Broadway cast for one night only.
The Dreamgirls film will be done under the DreamWorks banner and produced by Laurence Mark.