Interview: Charl Brown, Smokey Robinson In MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL

Hi Charl, and welcome to the West End!

Thank you - I'm loving what I've experienced so far!

Are you working very hard?

Yes - but that's the nature of the beast, I'm used to it!

How's the show looking in contrast to the Broadway production?

It's really exciting. It's a different energy, a different feel, but it's the same story and the same show. I was surprised to find the extreme talent here in London - I'm one of the only Americans in the show, the rest of the cast is all based here, so it's been thrilling to know that the show can translate with a mainly British cast. It's working very well. We've made some changes for a London audience, just little tweaks we've done because they work better over here. Culturally we are different although we speak the same language!

That's nice of you to say about the quality of British talent here - I think when the show was announced there were some worries that it might be a direct transfer without the involvement of British performers. It sounds like you've got the perfect combination.

Yes, and that's what's been so great at its heart - the majority of the cast is from the UK, and the other three Americans in the cast live here, I'm the only one who's come over to do the show. It's been exciting to know the talent is here. You know, this is Motown, no matter where you're from you have to have the chops to be able to pull it off. This is the best of the best here in the UK.

You're reprising a role you've already played with great distinction, gaining a Tony nomination for it. Is it a role that still challenges you?

It's still challenging me. I've not done the show in a year - we closed in January of last year on Broadway and I haven't done it since, so for me it's a challenge to revisit and dive deeper into the character. I did some additional research and spent more time investigating Smokey Robinson's story and legacy. It's been an honour to get to do it again and get a shot at building upon what I already created on Broadway, and create it again - it feels like a brand new show all over again.

Playing a real person must be a challenge as well, especially when the songs are still so well known.

It's been one of the biggest challenges of my career, playing someone who's still living and who has come to the show. He came on Broadway and sat in the second row! That is nerve-wracking. It's been an honour. We are all playing superstars so we have to evoke their essence but also take creative licence to give it drama. We're not doing imitations, we're evoking. We're infusing our own creativity.

You mentioned the tweaks for the British audiences - typically, we're not as rowdy during a show as American audience. We're appreciative but not so obvious! How are they responding to you so far?

I've been pleasantly surprised! The audiences have still been reactive. I expected them to sit there and be attentive, and then applaud at the end, but they've been almost as reactive as American audiences, which I think has been surprising to the house staff. But then it's Motown. It makes sense. This music was loved by all. It's infectious. There's no way you can sit still when we're singing 'My Girl' or 'Dancing in the Streets'. It's one of those things - the humanity brings us all together, and no matter where you're from or what your culture is, you have to respond to this music.

Charl Brown plays Smokey Robinson in Motown: The Musical, currently running at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

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