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Jennifer Hudson Returns to 'Dreamgirls' — This Time as the Producer Bringing It Back to Broadway
Nearly two decades after winning an Oscar for playing Effie White on screen, Hudson is stepping behind the scenes to produce Broadway's first 'Dreamgirls' revival in 39 years, alongside veteran producer Sonia Friedman.
Jennifer Hudson is going back to "Dreamgirls" — but this time, she's not auditioning for a part. Hudson will produce Broadway's first revival of the Tony- and Oscar-winning musical in 39 years, teaming up with veteran theater producer Sonia Friedman for a fall 2026 run, Variety reported.
"Dreamgirls," the story of a 1960s girl group modeled loosely on the rise of The Supremes, has not had a Broadway revival since its original 1981 run, making this the musical's first return to the Great White Way in nearly four decades. Hudson, in a statement to Variety, said she was "beyond honored" to help bring the show back, this time from a producer's chair rather than center stage.
A new cast, a new vantage point
Casting for the revival has not yet been announced. Producers said they plan to hold auditions for "talented women of all shapes and sizes" across the globe in search of a new Deena, Effie and Lorrell — the trio of singers at the heart of the show's story. In comments to People, Hudson described the opportunity to revisit the production in a new role as something close to "reliving" her earliest experiences with the material.
"BEYOND HONORED" TO PRODUCE ALONGSIDE SONIA FRIEDMAN, HUDSON SAID OF BROADWAY'S FIRST "DREAMGIRLS" REVIVAL SINCE 1987
Hudson's own history with "Dreamgirls" stretches back to the 2006 film adaptation, in which she played Effie White, the group's spurned original lead singer — a performance that won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and launched her transition from reality-show finalist to award-winning actress and recording artist. She has long described the role as the one that changed the course of her career, making her return to the property as a producer feel, by her own account, like a full-circle moment nearly twenty years later.
What's next
Friedman and Hudson's production team are expected to announce casting, a theater venue and exact opening dates in the coming months as the fall 2026 timeline takes shape. The revival will be the first major Broadway staging of the musical since the original production closed in 1987, following national tours and the 2006 film that introduced the story to a new generation of audiences.