American Idol Alum Syesha Mercado to Headline Dreamgirls Tour

Syesha Mercado, who placed third in season seven of American Idol, has won the role of Deena Jones in the forthcoming national tour of Dreamgirls. The tour will premiere at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on November 7, running through December 6. Opening night has been set for November 22, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom.

Joining Mercado in the cast will Moya Angela (The Lion King on tour) as Effie White, Adrienne Warren (Dorothy understudy in Encores! The Wiz) as Lorrell Robinson, Margaret Hoffman as Michelle Morris, Chaz Lamar Shepherd (The Color Purple) as Curtis Taylor, Jr., Chester Gregory (Tarzan, Hairspray) as James “Thunder” Early, Trevon Davis as C.C. White and Milton Craig Nealy as Marty Madison.

The cast of 26 will also feature Tallia Brinson, Felicia Boswell, Ronald Duncan, Talitha Farrow, Brittney Griffin, James Harkness, Robert Hartwell, Eric Jackson, Chauncey Jenkins, Jared Joseph, Nikki Kimbrough, Brittany Lewis, Douglas Lyons, Kimberly Marable, Jarran Muse, Amaker Smith and Marc Spaulding.

Dreamgirls tells the rags-to-riches story of a 1960s girl group from Chicago, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune. Directed by Michael Bennett, the original Broadway production opened on December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 1,522 performances, winning six 1982 Tony Awards. The musical, which features a score by Henry Krieger and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, was adapted into a feature film that opened in December 2006 and won an Oscar for American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson as Effie.

Co-choreographer for the Dreamgirls tour is Shane Sparks, with scenic design by Robin Wagner, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Ken Billington, sound design by Acme Sound Partners and media design by Howard Werner for Lightswitch, The tour is produced by John Breglio for Vienna Waits Productions.

Following the Apollo Theater engagement, the national tour of Dreamgirls will play Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Costa Mesa, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and more.

Mercado placed third in the 2008 edition of American Idol behind David Cook and David Archuleta. She is the latest in a long line of American Idol contestants to make the transition to musical theater, joining Rock of Ages’ Tony-nominated star Constantine Maroulis, Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Ruben Studdard (Ain’t Misbehavin’), Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple), Taylor Hicks and Ace Young (Grease), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), Frenchie Davis (Rent, Ain’t Misbehavin’) and Anthony Federov (The Fantasticks).