Review: MOTOWN Shakes the Blues in Boston

Book by Berry Gordy; music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalog; directed by Charles Randolph-Wright; choreographed by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams; music supervision and arrangements by Ethan Popp; scenic design, David Korins; costume design, Esosa; lighting design, Natasha Katz; sound design, Peter Hylenski; projection design, Daniel Brodie; hair and wig design, Charles G. LaPointe; production stage manager, Anna R. Kaltenbach; orchestrations, Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook; music director/conductor, Darryl Archibald; dance music arrangements, Zane Mark; additional arrangements, Bryan Crook

Cast:

Berry Gordy, Julius Thomas III; Diana Ross, Allison Semmes; Smokey Robinson, Jesse Nager; Marvin Gaye, Jarran Muse; Young Berry Gordy/Stevie Wonder/Michael Jackson, Nathaniel Cullors, Leon Outlaw, Jr., Reed L. Shannon; Ensemble: Erick Buckley, Patrice Covington, Jamarice Daughtry, Ashely Tamar Davis, Lynorris Evans, Melanie Evans, Robert Hartwell, Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr., Trisha Jeffrey, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., Krisha Marcano, Marq Moss, Rashad Naylor, Chadaé Nichol, Ramone Owens, Jamison Scott, Joey Stone, Doug Storm, Martina Sykes, Christian Dante White

Performances and Tickets:

Now through February 15, Boston Opera House, 539 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.; tickets start at $43 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787, online at www.BroadwayinBoston.com or at the Boston Opera House Box Office.

MOTOWN, Berry Gordy's self-aggrandizing tribute to the independent record label that fused gospel, blues, jazz, doo wop and country into a unique and wildly popular Detroit sound, is currently heating things up at the Boston Opera House through February 15. Gordy is one of the lead producers and the book writer of this manic musical tour of his greatest hits, so it's no surprise that he has made himself the hero - and the show's misunderstood central character.

MOTOWN leaves no doubt that Gordy was a star-making machine, a songwriter and producer with an uncanny eye and ear for talent. He was also an unflappable businessman who wasn't interested in recording "race" music just because his artists were black. He broke through the barriers of white radio stations to elevate his unique crossover sound onto the "pop" music charts. His stars became legendary, and their music changed the industry.

Unfortunately, in focusing the narrative on himself, Gordy has removed any real bite from the story. He becomes a genial team builder, a selfless producer who is only doing what's best for his artists. His obsessive control and backroom dealings are glossed over. His artists are portrayed as selfish and ungrateful when they ultimately leave him for more lucrative contracts and greater musical freedom.

Of course, the story isn't what sells MOTOWN. It's the music, and what great music it is. Diana Ross and the Supremes. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Marvin Gaye. Stevie Wonder. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Gladys Knight and the Pips. The Temptations. Lionel Ritchie. The Commodores. Mary Wilson. The Four Tops. Mary Wells. The Marvelettes. Anyone familiar with these super nova talents can "name that tune" in just three notes, and MOTOWN delivers 60 of them.

The cavalcade of enduring musical numbers is performed by a host of exceedingly talented tribute artists. The performers throw themselves into their roles with tremendous energy, and each "act" receives rousing applause. It's a shame, then, that we don't get to hear more of them. Most songs are presented in snippets only, as if they are part of an oldies infomercial designed to elicit an "Ah, I remember that one" response from a carefully selected target demographic. The music does serve to take us through 25 years of Motown's history, from its inception in 1959 to an anniversary reunion concert televised on NBC in 1983. But the cultural milieu in which the songs became popular is given short shrift.

The most powerful sequence in MOTOWN by far comes at the end of Act I when the turmoil in Gordy's business and personal life collides with the tumultuous events of the 1960s. The assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King and the protests over the Vietnam War prompt a dramatic shift in music from love ballads to protest songs. Edwin Starr has a hit with "War (What Is It Good For?)" and Marvin Gaye pleads for peace with "What's Going On?" Here the choreography breaks loose, too, with the psychedelically clad ensemble marching in perfect angry unison one minute and switching to fluid improvisational ballet the next.

Act II picks up where Act I left off, opening dramatically with the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion." But it doesn't take long for MOTOWN to settle back into Gordy's superficial hit parade. Ending with the Supremes' mega-hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in celebration of Gordy's monumental achievements, the show could just as easily have been dubbed ME-town.

Across the board the singing and dancing are stronger than the acting. Julius Thomas III as Gordy has a gorgeously supple baritone that can belt or caress with equal finesse, but he's a one-note narrator in the book scenes. Jesse Nager is perfection as the soft-spoken and falsetto-singing Smokey Robinson, and Jarran Muse as Marvin Gaye captures the bottled discontent beneath the silky vocals. Ashley Tamar Davis, who stepped in for Allison Semmes as Diana Ross at the performance this reviewer saw, possesses just the right mix of joy and heartache. Martina Sykes makes the most of her brief moment in the spotlight singing "My Guy" as Mary Wells.

It's the little dynamo, Michael Jackson, however, who blows the roof off the Opera House in a bravura performance. Leon Outlaw, Jr. (who rotates in the role with Nathaniel Cullors and Reed L. Shannon) has all of the swagger and all of the moves to be the King of Pop incarnate. Alas, his musical numbers, too, were truncated. MOTOWN definitely leaves one wanting more.

Sets by David Korins are colorful and easily adaptable for the road. Lighting by Natasha Katz is show biz snazzy. Costumes by Esosa travel through 25 years of fashion spectacularly, workman-like when the story stays behind the scenes and dazzling when the artists are on the concert stage. The 16-piece orchestra (five who travel with the company and 11 locals) capture the Motown sound expertly, but the volume could be modulated more judiciously to showcase the unique styling of each performer.

In the end, MOTOWN provides a nostalgic fast-forward trip down memory lane for anyone who came of age in the '60s and '70s. But a bona fide Broadway musical, or even a true tribute concert, it is not.

PHOTOS ARE OF THE ORIGINAL BROAWAY PRODUCTION: The cast of MOTOWN; Brandon Victor Dixon as Berry Gordy and Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross; Jesse Nager, Donald Webber, Jr., Julius Thomas III, Ephraim M. Sykes, and Jawan M. Jackson as the Temptations; Sydney Morton, Valisia LeKae and Ariana DeBose as the Supremes; Raymond Luke, Jr. as Michael Jackson with the Jackson 5