Jennifer Hudson had a mini Dreamgirls reunion on her talk show, and now we’re holding out hope for a full cast one down the road! On Wednesday, the host reunited with Anika Noni Rose, her co-star in the 2006 film adaptation of the record-making 1981 Broadway production.
Hudson starred in the film as Effie White, inspired by Supremes member Florence Ballard, and Rose as Lorrell Robinson, inspired by Supremes member Mary Wilson.
Revealing that the two hadn’t seen one another since Hudson’s “child was a child,” the stars reminisced on the first time they sang together for the film, along with castmate Beyonc?, who played Deena Jones, inspired by Motown star and lead Supremes member Diana Ross.
“I think the first thing that I remember and remember really fondly was the first moment that the three of us sang together… and that blend hit,” Rose recalled, sharing that the trio shared a look of astonishment when they heard their voices together. “Because a blend is not something that you can create, it’s either there or it’s not there. And it was fantastic.”
Hudson, of course, cemented her star status with the scene-stealing role in the film, earning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her work, which later led to her winning a full EGOT. Rose went on to become the voice of the first-ever Black Disney Princess, Princess Tiana of The Princess and the Frog.
“I’m proud of my Dreamgirls sister,” Hudson gushed before asking the actress what the role meant to her.
“It is still one of the most amazing things [and] it remains that. The fact that Princess Tiana will be there long after I’m gone, that she will be part of Americana, in a space that I don’t think any of us thought we would be able to take up,” Rose shared. “It says a lot to children, it says a lot to little Brown children definitely. That they can be princesses, that they have no doubt about it anymore. It says to their friends that don’t look like them that they can be princesses and there’s no question about that. There’s no more pulling out your yellow towel and wrapping it around your hair so you can feel like a princess. It’s a different time.”
Hudson previously welcomed original Dreamgirl, Sheryl Lee Ralph, to the show. The 65-year-old joined the host for an intimate discussion about her turn in the original Broadway production that turned into a mini-masterclass on being a Dreamgirl.
Ralph, who originated the role of Deena and landed a Tony nomination, vividly recalled the day she auditioned for Dreamgirls. The Abbott Elementary star said she remembered walking into the theater behind Loretta Devine — who was “already becoming Loretta Devine” — and winding up in a room filled with powerhouse vocalists. “The building was literally levitating off of the concrete, that’s how wonderful they were,” Ralph recounted. “And then there was me.”
The actress said she waited around for several hours after her audition until, finally, the show’s creative team came by to announce their decision. Ralph said she was getting ready to leave after the first two names were called, but then she heard her name next.