Amber Riley is honoured to be starring in stage musical Dreamgirls on London’s West End.
The American actress will play soul singer Effie White in the musical inspired by the rise of 1960s R&B acts such as The Supremes.
Amber, who played Mercedes Jones in the TV musical drama Glee, is more than a little excited to be making her West End debut.
"There is so much expectation as it's such a huge role,” she told Britain’s Hello! Magazine. "I know it's an honour to be in the West End."
The 30-year-old added that she feels a close connection with her character. She put a lot of time into understanding all of the song lyrics so that she was able to imbue the songs with a sense of authenticity.
"The things about these songs is that you have to understand what the words mean... I connect with the story of Effie a lot - being a plus-size black woman in Hollywood and having to deal with rejection,” she explained.
Amber has never been away from home for more than a three-month stretch, but will be temporarily relocating to the English capital for her latest gig. But living abroad is something she has dreamt of for some time, and the timing was eventually right after Glee ended in March last year (15) after a six season run.
"All good things must come to an end," smiled Amber of the show’s end. "But the last week was so sad. It was weird because you go from being on set every day and people telling you what you are doing tomorrow, to having to take control of your life."
Originally a Broadway production in 1981, which won six Tony Awards, Dreamgirls was adapted into the 2006 Oscar winning film starring Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson (who played Effie), Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.
Dreamgirls begins previews at the Savoy Theatre in November (16).
