Music: Dream Girls

A rock myth 20 years after

Bandstand memories. A trio or quartet of young women in identical dresses, heavy on the sequins and feathers, sway in gentle syncopation as they mouth the words to their new hit record. They have the rough, "found" beauty of stenos or inner-city cheerleaders, and they run through their number with artless urgency, as if they realize that this is their one fluky shot at stardom. They sing of the idealized male, who needs both adoration and protection: the angel baby, the rebel, the leader of the pack,...

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