Syesha Mercado, former American Idol contestant and star of the revival of Dreamgirls

“It’s crazy, because I met Audra McDonald and I didn’t take a picture of it and I’m so mad! I took pictures of me going out to eat with the cast members. We went to this really nice place and I can’t remember the name of it but I know they had album covers for the dinner menus, and the album cover that I got was Diana Ross. So I took a picture of that with the cast members sitting down at the table. That was after one of our rehearsals when we came to 42nd Street. I took pictures at 42nd Studios, where we were rehearsing before we came to the Apollo. I took pictures at the mike with some of the understudies. That’s pretty much what I did: at home, rehearsing and then out to eat with cast members.”

“I also had someone take pictures of me going over my lines and my music at home in my little study.

“I also took a picture of an advertisement for Dreamgirls on the back of a bus; we just happened to come across it so I got behind the bus and took a picture of that.”

“There’s a picture with the cast members holding up little album covers—I think that will be a great picture. It’s just an amazing group of people and the energy is so positive and uplifting. I’m so happy to come to rehearsal every day because I’m working with some really nice people.”

“People were picking on me when they saw me carrying the flash camera around. I actually took some pictures of us eating Pinkberry ice cream. Chester Gregory, he bought all of us ice cream one day after rehearsal so we all were just eating Pinkberry in the hallway.”

Dreamgirls is at the Apollo Theater Nov 7–Dec 6.