At least the first half is - after intermission we see characters fall to drugs or illness. (This is not always the case in the huge State Theatre, so bravo to music coordinator John Miller and keyboard programmer Randy Cohen and their crew.)īottom Line: Looking around the audience, it was clear that the generations gathered to celebrate the amazing, decades-long career of the Temptations. The sound balance proved outstanding, not too loud, not too soft.
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Understudy Antwaun Holley (also a BW alum) proved authoritative as key figure, and Motown Records’ founder Berry Gordon.Ĭonductor (and keyboardist) Jonathan “Smitti” Smith led an ensemble composed of tour members plus local orchestra musicians. (as Mama Rose, Florence Ballard and Tammi Terrell) flexed from one character to another with seeming ease as the Temptations’ saga progressed. Former Baldwin-Wallace student Shayla Brielle G. Two Cleveland-area performers added a welcome local note. The group (in various configurations over the years) performs over two dozen showstoppers such as “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and “Baby Love.” This show is really all about celebrating music and rhythmic, nimble dancing. The show also touches upon important historical events as it moves through the decades. Of course, everything was not all lollypops and roses for the group (or the women who loved them) during the tumultuous 1960s and beyond. But all the show’s vocalists provided a true (and tuneful) testimony to the power of Motown, soul and R&B. I’m pretty sure the floorboards vibrated when he announced himself. Some dramatic segments stood out, as when the group needed a bass, and low-voiced Holmes (as Franklin) stepped out on the stage. As the 1960s continued, David Ruffin (Elijah Ahmad Lewis) joined the group and widened its appeal. Lane), Elbridge “Al” Bryant (Brett Michael Lockley), Melvin Franklin (Harrell Holmes, Jr.), and Eddie Kendricks (Jalen Harris) showed how talented the quintet that “made it” via Motown was. The actors who played Otis Williams (compelling understudy Michael Andreaus), his brother Paul Williams (James T. This makes sense because the show is based in Williams’ book, The Temptations, but at times Otis’ running monologue explaining everything made me wonder what other characters felt and thought.
The straightforward storyline about the Detroit-based group resembles an illustrated diary that features high and low points in the author Otis Williams’ life. Directed by Des McAnuff, with a script by Dominique Morisseau, it features the Tony Award-winning choreography of Sergio Trujillo with music and lyrics from the Legendary Motown Catalog This lively production celebrates the R&B hits that made the ensemble popular from the 1960s until today. More a concert than a musical, the national tour production of Broadway’s “ain’t too proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, is rocking Playhouse Square through July 31.
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