Effective January 1, 2006, DreamWorks Pictures will pay the licensing fees for all amateur productions of the award-winning musical ?Dreamgirls? in the United States and Canada.

This will encompass any amateur productions mounted in the calendar year 2006 at high schools, colleges and in community theatres, but will not extend to dinner theatres and other professional productions. The program is being offered in conjunction with the owners of the original musical?which include the estate of Michael Bennett, who directed, choreographed and produced the original Broadway musical, and the Tams-Witmark Music Library Inc.?with the goal of introducing a new generation of theatergoers to ?Dreamgirls? in advance of DreamWorks? late 2006 release of the long-awaited screen version of the musical.

Theatre companies interested in mounting a production of ?Dreamgirls? should contact Tams-Witmark Music Library Inc. by phone at 212/688-2525; via fax at 212/688-3232; or at /www.tamswitmark.com"">www.tamswitmark.com.

Interested parties can also visit www.dreamworks.com/dreamgirls for details. Bill Condon, who is directing the screen version of ?Dreamgirls,? stated, ?I am thrilled that DreamWorks is making it possible for schools and other small theatres to discover ?Dreamgirls? again. Although set in the 1960s, this is a musical that transcends time, with themes that still resonate for today?s audiences. I am excited to be bringing it to the big screen, and am equally excited at the prospect of hundreds?if not thousands?of young talents bringing it back to the stage.?

Music superstar Beyonc? Knowles, who is starring in the movie version of ?Dreamgirls,? added, ?I have been performing on stage since I was nine years old, and I know how music and theatre can change the lives of young people. This is a wonderful way to help schools and other community groups revive an important chapter of musical theatre history on their own stages.?

The story of the rise and fall of an African-American girl group in the racially turbulent 1960s, ?Dreamgirls? debuted on Broadway in December 1981 and ran for four years. Now, the musical is coming to the screen starring Academy Award? winner Jamie Foxx (?Ray?), award-winning music superstar and actress Beyonc? Knowles (?Austin Powes in Goldmember?), Eddie Murphy (?The Nutty Professor,? ?Dr. Dolittle?), Danny Glover (the ?Lethal Weapon? franchise), Jennifer Hudson (?American Idol?) and Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (Broadway?s ?Caroline or Change?).

Visit the /www.dreamworks.com/dreamgirls"">the official site."