Chester Gregory, Allison Semmes, Jesse Nager & Jarran Muse Will Lead MOTOWN's Broadway Return; Full Cast Announced!

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy just announced complete casting for the Broadway return of Motown the Musical, beginning performances Tuesday, July 12 at The Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41Street) for a strictly limited 18-week-only engagement through Sunday, November 13, 2016.

The smash hit production, featuring the music of the legendary Motown catalogue and a book by Berry Gordy, will star Chester Gregory as Berry Gordy, Allison Semmes as Diana Ross, Jesse Nager as Smokey Robinson, Jarran Muse as Marvin Gaye, and J.J. Batteast and Leon Outlaw, Jr. as Young Berry Gordy/Stevie Wonder/Michael Jackson.

The 33-member ensemble cast will feature Nik Alexander, Erick Buckley, Chante Carmel, Chadaé, Lynorris Evans, Anissa Felix, Talya Groves, Rod Harrelson, Robert Hartwell, Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr., Trisha Jeffrey, Jamie LaVerdiere, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Loren Lott, Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., Krisha Marcano, Marq Moss, Rashad Naylor, Ramone Owens, Olivia Puckett, Nicholas Ryan, Jamison Scott, Joey Stone, Doug Storm, Martina Sykes, Nik Walker and Galen J. Williams.

Tickets for Motown the Musical are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929.

Motown The Musical concluded its original world premiere Broadway engagement on January 18, 2015 following 775 performances at The Lunt Fontanne Theatre. The original Broadway production grossed over $1 million a week regularly throughout its run and concluded as both a critical and audience favorite and a commercial success, having recouped its $18 million investment at the end of 2014.

The first National Tour opened to critical acclaim in Chicago in April 2014, grossing an impressive $20 million dollars during its standing room only sixteen-week run, and continues to break box office records and receive rave reviews playing major cities across the country.

The London production of Motown the Musical opened in February to critical acclaim and just extended the booking period into 2017 at The Shaftsbury Theatre.

In only three short years since its first performance, Motown the Musical has already, around the world, grossed over $300 million at the box office and sold 2.5 million tickets.

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, Motown the Musical is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating show charts Motown Founder Berry Gordy's incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.

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 of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.

Motown The Musical's creative team features choreography by Patricia Wilcox (A Night with Janis Joplin) and Warren Adams (Toy Story), scenic design by David Korins (Hamilton), costume design by Tony Award nominee ESosa (On Your Feet!) lighting design by Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (An American in Paris), sound design by Tony Award nominee Peter Hylenski (Something Rotten!) and projection design by Daniel Brodie (Aladdin).

Motown The Musical features arrangements and orchestrations by Tony and Grammy Award nominee Ethan Popp (School of Rock, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), who also serves as musical supervisor for the orchestra that reproduces the classic "Sound of Young America" for the stage, with co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Tony Award nominee Bryan Crook ("Smash"), dance arrangements by Zane Mark (Holler if Ya Hear Me) and music direction by Joseph Joubert (The Color Purple).

The Original Broadway Cast Album of Motown the Musical, produced by Ethan Popp for Universal Music Enterprises, was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.