MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is Broadway's record-breaking smash hit that tells the true story behind the beat that changed minds, touched lives and took the world by storm. Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations- MOTOWN THE MUSICAL shows how these legendary artists and so many more created the soundtrack that transformed America. With over 40 classic songs such as "My Girl," "What's Going On," "Dancing in the Street," "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," this explosive Broadway event is the next chapter of Motown's incredible history- and an experience you'll never forget.
"SOMETHING CLOSE TO RAPTURE SPREADS THROUGH THE AUDIENCE!"
-The New York Times
'Motown,' which clocks in at nearly three hours with intermission, is a greatest hits collection of music and a treasure trove of history...Like so many collections, it would benefit from some considerable paring down. I'd have preferred fewer of those awesome songs, with more of them performed in full. The actors (among them, the fine Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross and Bryan Terrell Clark as Marvin Gaye) do a swell job of not imitating the artists they're charged with portraying, instead infusing roles with their own individual charms. More nettlesome is the story, not that most people will care, since audiences will flock to 'Motown' on the goodwill of its name alone.
The 2 1/2-hour show, about Motown Records under founder Berry Gordy, opened Sunday at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre completely unbalanced: The songs are staggering, the book utterly flimsy. Both are due to one man: Gordy, who clearly knows what makes an indelible hit song, but also has an inability to write objectively about that skill. As the book writer, Gordy comes across almost divine, a true visionary who literally changed the world and race relations but was eventually abandoned by the artists he made stars when they sought to cash in. There are parts of the show that even a North Korean dictator would find excessively flattering.
2013 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2014 | US Tour |
US National Tour US Tour |
2016 | West End |
Original West End Production West End |
2016 | Broadway |
Broadway Return Engagement Broadway |
2017 | US Tour |
Second US National Tour US Tour |
2017 | US Tour |
Non-Equity National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Brandon Victor Dixon |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Valisia LeKae |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | 0 |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Valisia LeKae |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Raymond Luke |
2013 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Valisia LeKae |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Ethan Popp |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Bryan Crook |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Charl Brown |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Valisia LeKae |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Peter Hylenski |
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