Sparkle

Among the reasons for buzz about Lonette McKee, singing the lead as eldest sister “Sister,” backed up by 16 year-old Irene Cara (title character) and Dwan Smith (as Delores), with a Curtis Mayfield original, certainly more in the contemporary style than that of the setting, Harlem ca. 1958, in the fictional show-biz drama Sparkle, 1976.

Neat two opening scenes, introducing Phillip Michael Thomas and Dorian Harewood on the front steps, with Lonette McKee, Irene Cara and Dwan Smith as “Sister,” Sparkle and Delores, Mary Alice their mom, Beatrice Winde the neighbor, Sam O’Steen directing, in the cult hit (re-made by Whitney Houston in 2012), Sparkle, 1976.

With voice-over from the ubiquitous DJ Kasey Kasem, and introductions for 16-year old Irene Cara, Lonette McKee, and Dwan Smith, with Philip Michael Thomas and Dorian Harewood in support, the original trailer for the semi-cult musical, re-made with Whitney Houston in 2012, Sparkle, 1976.

The first musical number, an original from Curtis Mayfield, not to be confused with the Pointer Sisters’ 1984 hit, the fictional Williams sisters (Lonette McKee, Irene Cara and Dwan Smith), with Philip Michael Thomas and Dorian Harewood, all doing their own vocals, performing at a Harlem amateur show, in Sparkle, 1976.