Calling all you dreamgirls: 2009 national tour awaits you

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For all you future Jennifer Hudsons, here’s an opportunity to finally belt those ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ blues beyond the bathroom mirror: The 2009 national tour of ‘Dreamgirls’ will be holding open auditions for all three of the musical’s leading ladies on Nov. 1 at New York’s famed Apollo Theater in Harlem.

With music by Henry Krieger and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, this irrepressible show about the schizo nature of showbiz is gearing up once again to send its Motown-inspired groove across the country. But first the production -- directed and choreographed by Bobby Longbottom, with co-choreography by hip-hop move-master Shane Sparks -- has to find its new set of Dreams: Deena Jones, Lorrell Robinson and Effie White.

Following the up-and-down saga of an all-girl group not unlike ‘The Supremes,’ the musical made an instant star of Tony-winner Jennifer Holliday when she originated the role of Effie on Broadway in 1981, and earned Hudson an Oscar for her equally seismic turn as the shunted aside heavy-weight soul singer in Bill Condon’s 2006 movie version.

There are a couple of provisos, however. The casting directors are looking for women in their 20s, which means Holliday and her army of drag impersonators will be left out in the cold. But life’s not as bad as it may seem, for as long as there are gay watering holes, there’ll always be a place for you to lip-sync your dreams.

--Charles McNulty