Dreamgirls is an award-winning Broadway musical, which opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway and ran for 1522 performances. The musical was loosely based on the history of Motown group The Supremes, following the story of a Black all-girl singing trio from Chicago called The Dreams, who become music superstars. It features music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen , and was directed by Michael Bennett, produced by Bennett, Bob Avian , and Geffen Records, and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters.

The musical, which starred Jennifer Holliday as the Florence Ballard-like Effie White, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical. Holliday won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, and Ben Harney won for Best Leading Actor .

Mary Wilson of The Supremes loved the musical, and even named her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, after it. Former Supremes lead singer Diana Ross was reportedly angered by the musical, and refused to see it.

A motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, to be written and directed by Bill Condon, is scheduled to start filming in summer 2005, with Beyoncé Knowles in talks to play the main character of Effie White[1].