Fresh off of her first Emmys win, “Dreamgirls” actor Sheryl Lee Ralph stopped by the “Jennifer Hudson Show” to give a taste of how the original broadway stars got down.
A full circle moment bloomed during Tuesday’s (September 20) episode of the daytime talk show as Jennifer Hudson, who starred in the 2007 movie adaptation of Dreamgirls, interviewed Ralph, one of the original “Dreamgirls” in the 1981 Broadway musical.
Ralph recalled auditioning for the Broadway role and working alongside her “Dreamgirls” co-stars Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holliday.
“These women in the room, they were not singers ― they were sangers, baby,” Ralph told Hudson. “The building was literally levitating off the concrete, that’s how wonderful they were.”
During the audition, Ralph said the casting team asked her to sing “something from church,” and she opted to perform “Ave Maria,” which didn’t seem to be received well.
“I think they were thinking something more in the Baptist vein,” she joked. “They did not know that I was a little Episcopalian girl. So I sang my little song and I sat down.”
When Hudson asked if Ralph wanted to show off some of her original “Dreamgirls” moves, the Emmy winner insisted the daytime talk show host join her.
With Ralph’s guidance, the two delivered an impromptu performance, recreating a piece of the original choreography with feather boa and all.
On Tuesday, the “Abbott Elementary” star also discussed her Emmy acceptance speech and win, which she said “still feels amazing” more than a week later.
“I was in absolute shock,” Ralph said. “I didn’t think it was me. I was there to support my cast, my cast members. I thought it was going to be somebody else … I honestly do not remember getting up out of my seat. I do not remember getting onto the stage.”
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