With Amber Riley Out Sick, Casey Nicholaw Favorite Marisha Wallace Takes Center Stage in West End's Dreamgirls

Amber Riley has taken a temporary leave of absence from the West End revival of Dreamgirls following a pneumonia diagnosis. Marisha Wallace, who has appeared in a number of Casey Nicholaw-helmed productions in the United States, has recently joined the company to share the role of Effie White with alternate Karen Mav. Wallace will remain with the company as an alternate upon Riley’s recovery.

Wallace steps into the London production after appearing on Broadway in Nicholaw’s stagings of Aladdin and Something Rotten!. She also performed in the national tour of The Book of Mormon. She is no stranger to the role of Effie White, having recently taken on the iconic role at the Dallas Theater Center.

Producer Sonia Friedman said in a statement, “It has always been our intention to ensure that alongside the brilliant Amber Riley we have a number of wonderful alternate performers who also can perform this extraordinarily challenging role.” She added, “I am delighted that both Marisha and Karen have made such a wonderful start, performing the role of Effie several times over the holiday period and proving such a big hit with audiences. I am looking forward to Amber making a full recovery and returning to the company very soon.”

The current cast of Dreamgirls also includes Liisi LaFontaine as Deena Jones, Ibinabo Jack as Lorrell Robinson, Joe Aaron Reid as Curtis Taylor Jr., Adam J. Bernard as Jimmy Early, Tyrone Huntley as C.C. White and Nicholas Bailey as Marty.