Motown: The Musical is zipping all over the country these days in anticipation of its announced Broadway return in summer 2016. The tour, which features a strong cast, spectacular costumes, an interesting yet minimal set and a well-honed orchestra, rocked Milwaukee audiences on opening night.
The score features dozens of legendary hits, made famous by artists who got their start on the Motown label in the 1960s and 70s. The story lightly focuses on the life of Motown creator Berry Gordy, who started the label with an $800 loan from his family. Within a few years, this Detroit-based outfit was selling more singles and releasing more hits than any other record company. It became one of the most successful African-American owned business of its time.
Although the sketchy script is tolerable, the show wisely focuses its attention on the songs that made Gordy (and his A-list artists) famous. Gordy, himself, was involved in the musical’s creation. Like a host who doesn’t want to leave anyone off the guest list, he makes sure to include Diana Ross (both with and without the Supremes), the Temptations, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, etc.
Curiously, the show begins on a downbeat note. Gordy, mired in financial troubles and licking his wounds over artists who abandoned him for other labels (and better contracts), insists he won’t attend a 25th anniversary Motown celebration in his honor. The disgruntled Gordy rebuffs all efforts to get him to change his mind. The show then goes into flashback mode, in the days when “Junior” (as his family called him) begged his family for a financial stake in starting a record company. They remind him of his failure in previous ventures, which included boxing.
Then we are dazzled by a cavalcade of the big names that got their start under Gordy’s wing. The story moves so quickly – and so jerkily – that many younger audience members may fail to recognize some of the top stars of yesteryear. Judging by the reaction of Milwaukee’s audience on opening night, the crowd was definitely aware of all the performers who fleetingly made cameo appearances.
It has been noted by previous critics that the second act is stronger than the first, and this still holds true. It begins with Gordy following his dream of moving to Los Angeles, center of the country’s music business. Despite some resistance from family and his “stars,” Gordy prevails. He creates a monument to his business acumen – a monument that his accountant says he can’t afford. Gordy is betting that vast sums of wealth will appear when his acts become music superstars. He fails to realize that his “loyal” artists also will be more easily attracted by better offers. One of the larger LA-based labels signs Marvin Gaye. Their music executives see potential in one of Gaye’s songs that Gordy passes up. It becomes the smash hit, “I Heard It through the Grapevine.”
The cast does a fine job in melding the show’s various elements. As Berry Gordy, Josh Tower is efficient if not memorable; Trisha Jeffrey (replacing Allison Semmes) is a bit too curvy to portray reed-thin Diana Ross, but she belts out the hits with impressive skill. Jess Nager as Smokey Robinson and Jarran Muse as Marvin Gaye capture some – though not all – of their characters’ appeal. Both exhibit strong vocals.
The blockbuster that dominates Act II, however, is much smaller in stature. Leon Outlaw Jr. is a wonder as child star Michael Jackson. Outlaw captures every gesture and reaches every note on Jackson’s songs from his early days, such as “ABC” and the ballad, “I’ll Be There.”
Although the ever-evolving set doesn’t make much sense, it is attractive to watch. A large structure of moving colored beams become a wide variety of locations: from Gordy's first recording studio in Detroit, to the Ed Sullivan Theater and Gordy's L.A. recording studios. The fabulous costumes include the impeccably dressed Temptations to a fringe jacket-wearing Michael Jackson. Diana Ross first appears wearing her school outfit at age 17 to her later years, when she twirls onstage in glamorous plumes. If this musical is short on script, it certainly makes up for it in the number of Motown hits. That, in itself, is perhaps the best testimony to a man who created an empire with a dream, an eye for talent and a few hundred dollars.
