INTERVIEW: Karen Mav, Marisha Wallace and Moya Angela, all starring as Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls

Tell us a bit about your Effie and how you think it differs from the other ladies playing the role. 

Marisha: I love that I get to put my own spin on it. My Effie has a lot of humour but she also has a lot of heart. I try to show a lot of truth in what I get across with the character, I really want audiences to feel like Effie could be their best friend, she’s a real person, 3D. I bring humanity to Effie.

Moya: I always tap into something real, something I’ve been through. At the end of ‘And I am Telling You I’m Not Going’, at the end of the first act, I cry. Every time, it never fails. I always cry.

Karen: I’m the baby Effie, just entering showbiz. A lot of it is what I’m going through right now. As the youngest, feels a lot of resonance to the character in the younger period of her life so I have a different perspective on it. She starts off as a young girl with big dreams.

This role is incredible demanding, how do you prepare for the show and make sure you can sustain it? 

Marisha: It is a very demanding role, I think it’s the biggest sing in musical theatre! With any muscle you have to train it and make sure you look after it - we’re vocal athletes. I prepare, I work out, I have a vocal coach. Much like opera singers we share the role across the week so each audience gets everything we got! 

Moya: That’s right, we’re ‘Team Effie’. The West End is excited to receive some really big voices. 

Karen: After a year of being in the show I’ve learnt to have a structure – I want the audience to feel like they’ve got the best performance so I make sure I rest my voice and steam every day.

Who to watch out for in 2018

Hello Pocketers!

What a year we have had! 2017 has seen some great theatre over the year. La Strada was beautiful, Toxic Avenger - Hilarious, Evita… received mixed reviews; but there are some people who are so intricate to these performances that without them, we wouldn’t have had the shows we did this year; the rising talent.

So this is a little homage to them and those we should be watching out for in the new year to come from all of the shows we have seen. Teaming up with a couple of the other reviewers we’ve ben able to put together a list of those who have stood out in 2017.

FIRST LOOK: New cast of Dreamgirls join the show at the Savoy Theatre

American star Moya Angela joins the London cast of Dreamgirls as Effie White with Karen Mav and Marisha Wallace, who already star in the London production alongside original London Effie, Amber Riley. They alternate the role during the week. 

Asmeret Ghebremichael continues to play Lorrell Robinson, with Joe Aaron Reid continuing in the role of Curtis Taylor Jr, Brennyn Lark as Deena Jones, Tosh Wanogho-Maud as Jimmy Early, Durone Stokes as C.C. White, Delroy Brown as Marty and Kimmy Edwards as Michelle Morris.

The cast of Dreamgirls also includes Michael Afemaré, Callum Aylott, Georgia Bradshaw, Jabari Braham, Ashford Campbell, Sanchia Amber Clarke, Nicole Raquel Dennis, Nicole Deon, Rhiane Drummond, Ashlee Irish, Emma Louise Jones, Ashley Luke Lloyd, Samira Mighty, Jayde Nelson, Aston New, Sean Parkins, Kirk Patterson, Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton, Ryan Reid, Rohan Richards and Joshua Robinson.

Moya Angela joins Karen Man and Marisha Wallace as Effie White in DREAMGIRLS

American star Moya Angela joins the London cast of Dreamgirls as Effie White with Karen Mav and Marisha Wallace, who already star in the London production alongside original London Effie, Amber Riley. They will be sharing the role of Effie from November 20 2017. 

Amber Riley will play her last performance on 18th November 2017. 

The show has also announced that it is extending booking until June 2018. 

Electric vocalist Moya Angela has been a respected musical theatre actress in the US for many years, receiving great acclaim playing Effie White in the North American revival tour of Dreamgirls, touring with Disney’s The Lion King and being part of the original Broadway casts of Ghost the Musical and most recently In Transit. She wowed judges and audiences when she auditioned for the 2016 series of America’s Got Talent, reaching the quarterfinal stages.

Established star of Broadway Marisha Wallace joined the London cast of Dreamgirls earlier this year having received rave reviews in the role of Effie White in the Dallas Theater Centre production. On Broadway, she has originated roles in Disney’s Aladdin and Something Rotten! and toured the US in The Book of Mormon.