Jennifer Holliday-And I Am Telling You-DREAMGIRLS part 4

What can I say about this number ? It's the show stopper to end all show stoppers. I know one thing, cd,vinal,dvd, certainly not this video, does this song justice. Put very clearly...you just had to be there. Be there for the emotion that Effie was going through leading up to this song....how defiant she was fighting for Curtis....and lastly her denial that it was over(remember she's singing "you're gonna love me"to an empty room after he already left her dressing room...she keeps singing those words for her very survival!).To See Jennifer Holliday sing this, with Tears, sometimes mucus, gushing down her face...you can planley see Jennifer was Effie.It's like there was no acting. It was RAW.Everyone in the audience felt Effies pain at her on level due to Ms. Hollidays high voltage performance,a voice so loud it's shake the Washington Bridge.I remember seeing this early on at the Imperial Theater, and when Effie sang" Im not waking up tomorrow morning...and finding that there's nobody there..." there was an old Broadway saavy lady about 80 years old five rows to my right who stood up at that point and clapped and was crying as if she knew Broadway, and knew that History was being made right now. She was the first to stand...we would all join her midway through the song, and reamain long after the song ended.I'll never forget that lady...or how after the song the lights come on(The end of act 1) and everybody was crying and there'd be loud talking about what they just witnessed.To this day people talk about the "end of act 1...) and that the dress she wore singing And I AM Telling You should be in the Smithsonian. And Jennifer Holliday, have her own Shrine.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Broadway
• Musicals;Michael
• Bennet;Showstoppers;

[clevm002]

If anyone gets rid of this video... Its like taking away a bit of history.

I know its ilegal to video... however ... With out people videoing ilegaly you can lose some of the best historical moments of the stage. Such as this.

If youtube takes this of.. they may as well be sinners!

[nycblueyes10024]

YEs. This is amazing. She is amazing. She created "Effie". And she performed it on a Bway schedule....

One of the most astounding feats in Bway history.

Without Jennifer holiday, there really would be no Dreamgirls as we know it.

With all due respect-- and I do offer respect and love to Ms. Hudson-- Jennifer Holiday created the mold that everyone else has aspired to fill.

THank you, Ms. Holiday...!

God bless you!

[flagler88]

Wow, she is so subdued compared to her final performance were she almost blew her lungs out, still powerful though, always makes my hair stand on end, every single time.

[holderba]

Loretta Devine's skinny ass!!!!! LMAO!!!

[RAWHEBREW]

@georgiaboi420 Yes there are some things that were toned down that was only for the broadway show that they could not say on television. Back then when this premiered on the Tony Award, television was was much much more censored than it is now. This was during the time when the word bitch could not be said on t.v. or when a sex scene or nudity was not seen on television. So some things were removed just for t.v. and u got the full blast of it onstage.

[MissThomCat]

I'm covered in goosebumps and have tears in my eyes.. this is just so spectacular, I don't even have the words.

[georgiaboi420]

@ThosC747 Yea it seems like the Tony performance was toned down a bit even though it was a great performance.I guess to appeal to a wider audience....this one was raw and uncut..the best hands down!

[egyptiangawd]

7:32

"sang girl!"

[ThosC747]

Even though the quality is worse, I like this performance better than the one she did for the Tonys. I've seen thousands of Broadway shows, literally, and this was the single best performance I've ever seen. When she holds onto the chair to take two steps across the stage, you honestly feel that she's going to collapse. Thank God Michael Bennett didn't fire her, because he wanted to -- or at least he was very frustrated with her. There were other numbers in the show where she shined. Ths ws best

[janicerosen]

I think Jennifer Hudson did more than an admirable job but she had the BIGGEST shoes to fill. With all due respect to Ms Hudson, this song will ALWAYS belong to the incredible Jennifer Holiday. I saw this on Broadway and when she did this number, I thought I would jump out of my skin!!! Along with everyone in the audience, we could NOT contain ourselves and I've never seen a more riotous standing ovation before or since ... She is the original Effie and they don't make them like her anymore.

[victate]

Thank you soooooo much for posting this. this gets me every time.