On this special editIon of THE INTERVUE, we’re here at the Museum of the Bible for the U.S. Dream Academy’s Power of a Dream Gala celebrating 25 years. And ladies and gentlemen, we have the Tony & Grammy award winning artist Jennifer Holliday!

Jennifer, how you doing today?

I’m wonderful. Thank you so much. So happy to be here.

And I’m so happy to interview you especially since the first Broadway musical I got see was “Dreamgirls”. It was at my own college, Bowie State University while I was in middle school.

You got to see a high school college production?

It was a college production. You inspired me to love musical theater and helped me go to my future college. So, thank you so much.

Oh, thank you.

So how does it feel to be here at this wonderful gala tonight?

Well, Wintley Phipps is a very good friend of mine. I have known him for many decades now. And so, I have supported him. I was at one of the first Dream Academy galas. So, it’s good to be back to perform for him again.

And what will you be performing here tonight?

Well, I am going to be performing, of course, my signature song from “Dreamgirls”. And then just a special dedication called “A Dream with Your Name on It”. Just an inspirational song.

And how does it feel that you have been an inspiration to millions of Americans out there across the country and around the world with your signature song?

Well, I feel that’s one thing about a lot of people didn’t know that the song came from a Broadway show. Yes, because, it was 43 years ago when “Dreamgirls” opened on Broadway. And so, a lot of people when they first heard it, there was no social media or anything. They just fell in love with the song without even knowing where it came from. They didn’t know who I was, and to have four decades later, to have a song that has impacted so many music lovers around the world. So many theater lovers around the world have has just been a great joy.

And after this event, what do you have going on in the near future?

Oh, okay. Well, I still do a lot of performing and I do symphonies these days. And you know, just as myself, I’ve wanted to do another Broadway show, but I don’t know what that would be yet.

Do you know which Broadway show that you would love to do one day?

No, I had been trying to think about it because the good thing about today is that a lot of those great musicals can have a mixed cast now. You know, one of my favorites is “Mame”. That’s a lot of people don’t even know that. I think that “Mame” could be an African American. I don’t think she’s ever been an African American before.

Well, I have a feeling there’s gonna be an African American “Mame” definitely in the near future, and they should cast you. You’ve heard it here folks, cast Jennifer Holliday on Broadway for “Mame”. I’m serious.

“Auntie Mame”

Thank you very much, Jennifer. And we are going to have so much more from the Power of a Dream Gala!

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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