Allison Semmes & Clifton Oliver to Star in National Tour of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL

Producers Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris and Berry Gordy have announced that Clifton Oliver and Allison Semmes have been cast in the leading roles of Berry Gordy and Diana Ross in Motown the Musical. The First National Tour begins performances April 22, 2014 at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago before continuing to cities across the country.

Clifton Oliver (Berry Gordy) has performed in the Broadway productions of The Lion King (Simba), In The Heights (Benny opposite Jordin Sparks) and Wicked (Fiyero). Other credits include National Tours of The Lion King (Simba), Rent (Benny & Collins) and Ragtime (Ensemble).

Allison Semmes (Diana Ross) is a Chicago native who received a B.M. Opera at UIUC, M.M. from NYU-Steinhardt. Her Broadway credits include Motown the Musical (Florence Ballard) and The Book of Mormon (Nabalungi U/S, Swing). Other credits include The Color Purple National Tour,Dreamgirls, Bubbling Brown Sugar, The Wiz and Candide.

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, Motown the Musical is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy's 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 so many more.

Featuring more than 50 classic hits such as "My Girl" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," 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 is scheduled to perform in the following cities with additional tour stops to be announced at a later date:

Chicago, IL - Oriental Theatre
April 22-July 13, 2014

San Francisco, CA - Orpheum Theatre
August 15-September 28, 2014

Detroit, MI - Fisher Theatre
October 21-November 16, 2014

Kansas City, MO - Music Hall
December 9-14, 2014

Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
December 16-28, 2014

Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
February 17-22, 2015

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Broward Center for the Performing Arts
February 24-March 8, 2015

Tampa, FL - Straz Center for Performing Arts
March 17-22, 2015

Denver, CO - Buell Theatre
March 31-April 19, 2015

Los Angeles, CA - Pantages Theatre
April 28-June 7, 2015

San Diego, CA - Civic Center
June 9-14, 2015

Costa Mesa, CA - Segerstrom Center for the Arts
June 16-28, 2015

Milwaukee, WI - Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
July 7-12, 2015

Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
July 14-19, 2015

Houston, TX - Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
July 21-26, 2015

Dallas, TX - AT&T Performing Arts Center
July 28-August 16, 2015

Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
August 18-23, 2015

Charlotte, NC - Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
August 25-September 6, 2015

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL features choreography by Patricia Wilcox (Blues in the Night) and Warren Adams (Toy Story), scenic design by David Korins (Bring It On: The Musical, Annie), costume design by Tony Award® nominee ESosa (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, "Project Runway"), lighting design by Tony Award® winner Natasha Katz (Once, Sister Act), sound design by Tony Award®nominee Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages, The Scottsboro Boys), projection design by Daniel Brodie(Jekyll and Hyde), hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe (Memphis) and casting by Telsey + Company.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL's arrangements and orchestrations are by Grammy and Tony Award® nominee Ethan Popp (Rock of Ages), who also serves as music supervisor in reproducing the classic "Sound of Young America," with co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Tony Award® nominee Bryan Crook ("Smash") and dance arrangements by Zane Mark (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is produced by Tony Award® winning producer Kevin McCollum (Rent, In the Heights, Avenue Q), Chairman and CEO of SONY Music Entertainment Doug Morris and Motown founder Berry Gordy.