When Dreamgirls opens at the Lyceum Theatre Sept. 12, fans of the silver screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play loosely based on The Supremes may be surprised to see Stacy Francis onstage as “Effie.”

The role, made famous on Broadway by Jennifer Holliday and onscreen by Jennifer Hudson, is typically outfitted for a … well, larger actress.

The slim and stunning Francis may swim in her predecessors’ sequined gowns – but she’s certainly not standing in their shadows.

“Effie doesn’t have to be a big, fat black woman,” Francis says. “She’s hurt. She’s loud. She wants people to hear her. She wants to be seen as a star – skinny, fat, black, white, you don’t have to see that to understand it, and a lot of people will appreciate [director] Ron [Kellum] taking this risk with me. I’ve wanted to do this role for so long.”

During a break from rehearsals last week, Francis opened up to the Gay & Lesbian Times about the show, and why playing Effie is a dream come true.

Gay & Lesbian Times: How old were you when you were aware you wanted to perform, and how’d you come to love musical theater?

I never dreamed of being on Broadway. It was a never a goal of mine as a teenager. It just fell in my lap; I was lucky. I’d always wanted to record and be a recording artist and I made my first two albums with the girl group Ex-Girlfriend. It was not going as well as we’d hoped because of the politics, and that was when I got the opportunity to go to the West End in London, and that is where I got my acting card. When I came back, I went to Broadway and that’s when I started in theater. I was 13 when I saw an off-Broadway show and I remember thinking, “I can do that”; but I never aspired to be onstage, and I wasn’t familiar with Broadway growing up.

By the time I got Mama, I Want to Sing!, it was really funny because it was non-union, so the producer was having us do 10 shows a week, and it was so competitive because so many girls could sing. I was always pushing myself to be the best, because they had us competing against each other. It was my first theater experience, and it gave me that resilience, that tenacity, for lack of a better word. I was so used to doing 10 shows a week that when I went to Broadway, it was a breeze to do eight shows a week. Being from New York, so many people assume I was very familiar with Broadway, but when Dreamgirls was on Broadway I wasn’t really familiar with it. My mom actually took my older sister to see it.

GLT: In the show, you play Effie, who is a complex character; talented and a bit temperamental, but audiences tend to empathize with her. How do you relate to the character?

So many people say, “Why would you pick Stacy to play Effie?” Some people say I’m too pretty or too thin to play Effie, but we make up some of that onstage. I’ll tell you what it is. Ron [Kellum, director] and I have known each other for more than 15 years. I don’t have to act to play Effie. We’ve been through a lot of the same experiences, so it’s not more about the acting, it’s more about the experience of who she is as a woman. She’s loud, she’s bitter, she knows she has the talent to be out front, she wants to be heard, she’s ghetto; I’m ghetto, I’m from the hood. I’m in my second marriage, I have a baby now – we’ve been through some of the same life experiences. To step into this role, to be this person, Ron knows me from some of those experiences. People misunderstand me as a woman and that’s Effie; she’s misunderstood. There’s a lot she wants out of life. She’s been heartbroken. Her dreams, in the beginning, it feels like someone snatches them away. And she’s pregnant. My first husband was a music producer … I was with him for four years, and he never produced one record for me. And being in a girl group, and having the record not do so well; I was very overweight in the group – I was that girl. Ron knows that part of me; he knows that part of my life, so that’s why he’s trusting me with this. I know that pain and I know the joy too. I have a baby now, I’m happily married, I have a CD being released next week. I have a dream, as cliché as it sounds, and every person has a dream, we all have a dream. It may not come true when we want it to, there may be some hiccups along the way, but it will happen. I’m living testimony to that. That’s why Ron is trusting me with this part. I can deliver from that standpoint. Singing comes easily to me; acting is what I want to take to another level with Effie; I want the audience to feel Effie and love her and know her for who she is as a woman. Ron has a wonderful vision for this piece, which everyone knows and is familiar with, so the audience will see this production with new eyes.

GLT: With Jennifer Holliday originating the role of Effie, and Jennifer Hudson’s Oscar win for her role in the film adaptation, the world is very familiar with the song “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going” and its impact in the musical. Do you worry about delivering a performance as powerful as either of the Jen’s?

I respect Jennifer Holliday and Jennifer Hudson, but as a singer, I don’t put the pressure on myself to measure up or mimic them. What I will do vocally, people will be happy with. It’s hard for me to talk about this, because I’m talking about myself, but I’ll bring my own twist and my own sound to the role. Vocally, we’re all sopranos, so we have those big, churchy voices, and we all tend to belt high. I can only hope to give the same impact they give, but I don’t particularly feel any pressure. It’s not just about singing. The song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”; she’s pregnant and she’s telling the man, “I’m not going anywhere. I got this baby inside me and it’s yours, and you’re the best man I know.” It has to come from an emotional place. I could cry through the whole song and not hit one note, and if I cried through the whole thing, it will be more about the message than the song. From an acting point of view, you have to consider what’s going on. As a singer, I love the song and I want to deliver it in a way people enjoy it, but it really has to be about being honest in the moment. I feel honored to sing the song, and I know I can do it, but you can play the soundtrack in your car; when you come to see the show, it’s about feeling each character feeling Effie and knowing exactly where she’s at and where she’s coming from, and wondering “Do we like this chick?” At the end of the play, though, I should have everyone loving me. People should feel empowered and walk out of the theater feeling … wow. And you should love the character. I have to deliver that, give them that. I love the long notes, I love the singing, but I have to be sure when I portray the lines I’m honest.

GLT: What is your dream theater role?

Well I auditioned for the film as Effie, but I was told I was too thin, and whatever, whatever, and when I was younger I was asked to play Lorrell in a reunion tour that happened a few years ago, but I got another Broadway show I couldn’t pass up. I didn’t really realize how amazing the role of Effie is until we started rehearsals. Vocally, I get to show every part of my voice. I’ve never been able to do that in a show, unless it was my own concert. But people get to experience every part of my voice, and as a singer, that’s a dream. On the acting side, there are so many emotions – she’s happy, she’s sad, she’s mad, she’s resentful, she shows animosity and enthusiasm. There’s so many places she dwells emotionally. So in many ways, this is a dream role, it’s a dream opportunity. This is the best situation for a singer to be in, and it’s a hard role to sing. The song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” takes a lot out of you. In the original score, the key is lower but Jennifer Holliday took it to a higher key. The director asked if I wanted to sing it in a lower key and I said no. The reason I want to sing it in the higher key is I don’t want to be in a situation where the song starts and I’m comfortable. It’s a very uncomfortable moment and the stakes should be high. As a singer, I want to push myself forward, toward that mark. It’s critical to the play to see Effie vulnerable; it’s the key to understanding her. When it comes to the song, the stakes are high and I want everyone to be up there with me emotionally. I don’t want to be comfortable. This is a great opportunity and a dream for me. A great dream come true.

San Diego Musical Theatre will present Dreamgirls Sept. 12-21 at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza. Tickets are on sale now.