I was there. It was a big deal. There was a red carpet. They had the logo up in place of the newsies review panels. They did a video presentation that was a preview of the documentary coming out as the show goes into previews. Motown people were there. Aretha Franklin attended. Gift bags on every seat and evidently some kind of reception across the street after. I had toeave near the end but I saw 4 or 5 numbers. They said that they will include the love affair between Gordy and Ross as the love story in the show.
It will cover the first 25 years of Motown starting with Gordy not wanting to go to the 25th Anniversary show and then flashing back, ending where the show begins.
They went all out. Full costumes, choreography and 7 piece band (the show will have 18 pieces). If the rest of the show is any indication of how good the rest of the show is, they have a hit on their hands.
Since I left before it ended, not sure if they introduced the adult Micheal Jackson but the young Michael did a number and was excellent. The choreography we saw tonight was very good.
I think it would be very jard to do a Musical about Motown and not use real names. I would think the only "blessing" from Ross would be the depiction of her affair with Gordy. The show is based on his book so I figure it was already talked about in the book.