Reviews of Motown the Musical on Broadway. See what all the critics had to say and see all the ratings for Motown the Musical including the New York Times and More It's hard to pack so many songs and so much story, but there is a rough and ready soulfulness, a Motor City heart in "Motown: The Musical" that carries the day. Don't expect a "Jersey Boys" level of dramatic sophistication. Still, at the very least - and it generally is - Gordy's sketchy script presents a straightforward framework that does not get in the way usually of more than 60 much-loved songs that are performed like blazes by a dynamic member company of singers and dancers Certainly the performers are tip-top. For all the richness of its gold-and-platinum-plated soundtrack, "Motown" would be a much more satisfying nostalgia trip if Mr. Gordy and his collaborators were more effective curators of both story and song, rather than trying to encompass the whole of the label's fabled history in two and a half hours.


NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF Motown: The Musical
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Snapping their fingers and smoothly wriggling their hips, Diana Ross and the Supremes bop through several of their ear-tickling hits. Instead, their indelible styles are being effectively recreated by a blazing cast of gifted singers impersonating this crowded pantheon of pop-chart immortals. Gordy wrote the book for the musical adapted from his autobiography , and his recollections of the era and the artists he discovered form the shaky scaffolding for a musical that is, if nothing else, an efficient endorphin-delivery system for baby boomers. The story begins at the end, in , when a television special celebrating the Motown legacy is being prepared as a disgruntled Berry Brandon Victor Dixon broods in his Los Angeles home, waffling about whether to participate. A few left lawsuits behind as parting gifts. Although Berry mostly comes across as a heroic figure bordering on saintly, to Mr. The musical, mechanically directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, then flashes back to the beginnings, when a young Berry — Junior to his large, loyal and loving family — is casting about for a career. More than 50 songs! Elsewhere, the fit is forced, if not ludicrous. Never mind that it was recorded by Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
Sorry! You missed Motown - The Musical at Lunt Fontanne Theater
Motown the Musical is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in and changed our culture forever. Featuring all the classics you love, Motown the Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack that changed America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.
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