AIN'T TOO PROUD Previews

[natashalost]

Invited Dress should be happening in the next few days!

After breaking house records at both Berkeley Rep and The Kennedy Center, Ain't Too Proud, featuring a book by Dominique Morrisseau and directed by Des McAnuff, arrives on Broadway. Previews begin February 28, with opening night set for March 21 for an open-ended run.

SYNOPSIS: Follow The Temptations extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, how they met, how they rose, the groundbreaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest.

CAST: Derrick Baskin (Otis Williams), James Harkness (Paul Williams), Jawan M. Jackson (Melvin Franklin), Jeremy Pope (Eddie Kendricks), Ephraim M. Sykes (David Ruffin), Esther Antoine, Caliaf St. Aubyn, E. Clayton Cornelious, Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr., Taylor Symone Jackson, Jahi Kearse, Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., Joshua Morgan, Rashidra Scott, Nasia Thomas, Christian Thompson, Curtis Wiley, and Candice Marie Woods. 

Congratulations to the five Broadway debuts in the company! 

[bwayphreak234]

I will be at the first preview on Thursday night. I scored a great seat on Audience Rewards!

[theaterlyfe19]

bwayphreak234 said: "I will be at the first preview on Thursday night. I scored a great seat on Audience Rewards!"

Can't wait to hear what you think!! 

[BWAY Baby2]

Seeing it in April- can't wait for some reviews.

 

[Mike Barrett]

Excited to hear reviews!!! Think this could be really good. 

[bwayphreak234]

I am baffled right now. How in god’s name can a show have had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR extensive out of town tryouts and still be THIS bad? Ain’t Too Proud has one thing going for it - its phenomenal leading men. Everything else about this show is a colossal miss.

Des McAnuff has sealed his fate as the ultimate one trick pony director of jukebox musicals with this one. The direction for this features recycled elements of both Jersey Boys and Summer. There is nothing new to see here that we haven’t seen in either of his two former jukebox musicals.

The book is an absolute joke. It seriously reads like a fractured Wikipedia page with an excessive amount of 30-45 second snippets of music tossed in as an afterthought. The entire show is narrated by Otis, which gets really old. Just like with Summer, key emotional moments and relationships are brushed over with a single sentence of narration.

The set is an eyesore, and the projections and lighting are even worse. The Detroit Fox Theatre exterior that we are presented with at the top of the show must have been flown in and out at least a dozen times throughout the course of the show. The design elements as a whole are extremely uninspired.

All this being said, the leading men are all exceptional with Jeremy Pope’s Eddie and Jawan Jackson’s Melvin being the standouts. They are all onstage pretty much the entire show working their tails off. They were all a joy to watch.

The audience was eating this up from the minute the show started. I think it’s safe to say that at least 75% of the theatre was singing along at some points. Lots of audience responses to key moments and songs. I’m not sure if this was just a first preview thing or what, but boy was it an obnoxious audience.

This musical offerings this season have been pretty darn bleak so far this season. Sadly, Ain’t Too Proud is another one to add to this list as far as I’m concerned.

[WhizzerMarvin]

I was recently reading a review for the new NBC show “The Enemy Within” in either Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, and the critic was commenting on how the show was just a Blacklist/Blindspot redux and questioned what the effects of xeroxing a xerox of a xerox were.

Ain’t Too Proud is The Enemy Within of theater. It’s perfectly fine, if your idea of fine is bland, boring and safe, and at least Des is plagiarizing himself and not other people. Maybe it’s the return to a guy singing group, but Des is in overdrive to conjure up whiffs of his past hit, Jersey Boys. This is easily is slickest effort after duds like Guys and Dolls, JCS and Doctor Z; Ain’t Too Proud doesn’t have the cheap feel that pervaded Summer either.

The biggest mistake here is that it’s Motown (the show) all over again. Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson- they’re all back (we barely missed ya!) and since The Temptations didn’t write their own songs, this never really feels about the music. In fact, the score is credited to “The Legendary Motown Catalog.” Half the songs don’t even belong to The Temptations. Find a way to work in Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye? Do it!

The performances are good, but that’s rarely the problem with these jukebox bio shows. At least Dominique Morrisseau spared us from seeing younger selves turn into older selves mid song. Derrick Baskin plays Otis Williams, who narrates and narrates and narrates the show. He’s also the only character who’s afforded much of a family personal life. The other group members struggle with drugs, depression and disease, but if they were married, had families- we’ll never know.

The direction, with full use of turn tables and conveyor belts is slick and yet it plods. The runtime is long, but we don’t seem to learn much about the music.

Of course there’s a fun finale that gets everyone on their feet.

It’s polished, but just more of the same.

[JBroadway]

I forgot that Dominique Morisseau wrote the book to this. She's such a talented playwright, it's a shame that she's sinking this low. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Yes she is very talented, but even an artist has to eat and pay the bills sometime!

[RippedMan]

Is Choir Boy still going? Did Pope bow out earky for this?

[LuPita2]

Shocking they couldn't get it together from DC to here....

[WhizzerMarvin]

RippedMan said: "Is Choir Boy still going? Did Pope bow out earky for this? "

Choir Boy is still running; Pope has been replaced. I want Pope to win the Tony for Choir Boy. He was refreshing and downright thrilling. Here he sings well, but sadly blends into the background as he is forced to act out narration rather than be given any agency. 

[Kimbo]

Any chance of a current song list? Or scan of one?
(if in fact one appears in the program)
Any leads would be appreciated.... thanks...
And thanks for the early reviews and opinions!

[seaweedjstubbs]

I saw one of the out of town tryouts for this. Sounds like not much has changed. The constant narration really killed this show for me. Such a shame. There was so much potential for this to be one of the best jukebox musicals.

[natashalost]

I think Derrick Baskin’s name has been floating around as a possible contender for a Tony nomination. How about Jeremy Pope and Jawan Jackson? Could either be nominated for this too?

[Huss417]

What was the running time?

[\_(•_•)_/]

natashalost said: "I think Derrick Baskin’s name has been floating around as a possible contender for a Tony nomination. How about Jeremy Pope and Jawan Jackson? Could either be nominated for this too?"

hehehehehe

[WhizzerMarvin]

Runtime is 2:40/45

The songs are listed in alphabetical order in the Playbill. At least 50% of the music suffers from severe snippet-itis; songs like Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love and War maybe get 45 seconds. They would rather overstuff the songlist with as many familiar Motown tunes- whether they have anything to do with The Temptations or not- rather than dig deeper into The Temptations’ catalog. 

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

Baby Love

Ball of Confusion

Cloud Nine

Come See About Me

Don’t Look Back

For Once In My Life

Get Ready

Gloria

I Can’t Get Next to You

I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)

I Know I’m Losing You

I Want a Love I Can See

I Wish It Would Rain

If I could Build My Whole World Around You

If You Don’t Know Me By Now

I’m Gonna Make You Love Me

In the Still of the Night

Just My Imagination 

My Girl

Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Sorry, was having trouble adding anything more to that post. Songs continued: 

Runaway Child, Running Wild

Shout

Since I Lost My Baby

Speedo

Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)

The Way You Do the Things You Do

War

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

You Can’t Hurry Love

You’re My Everything

 

[Huss417]

Thanks for the info Whizzer. Weather supposed to be lousy tomorrow so think I might give the tkts to friends instead of coming into the city.

[\_(•_•)_/]

Thanks for the review Whizzer, this was on my list, but I think I will pass as it sounds like motown 2.0, will you be going to King Lear soon?

One question for you, do you see this going the summer route and be popular for 3-4 months?

[WhizzerMarvin]

I’m seeing Lear on Monday.

This definitely feels like a Summer/On Your Feet ticket sale scenario, rather than a Holler If Ya Hear Me/Baby It’s You non-existent interest level.

It very well could sell through Labor Day, but I don’t see sustained interest, especially when there will no doubt be other jukebox bio-shows to steal focus. Tina Turner comes in next season; Bebe Winans is on the horizon too. I’m sure we’ll get a Smokey Robinson musical and maybe even a Diana Ross someday too.

[quizking101]

WhizzerMarvin said: "I’m seeing Lear on Monday.

This definitely feels like a Summer/On Your Feet ticket sale scenario, rather than a Holler If Ya Hear Me/Baby It’s You non-existent interest level.

It very well could sell through Labor Day, but I don’t see sustained interest, especially when there will no doubt be other jukebox bio-shows to steal focus. Tina Turner comes in next season; Bebe Winans is on the horizon too. I’m sure we’ll get a Smokey Robinson musical and maybe even a Diana Ross someday too. "

We got a Diana Ross Musical already. It’s called “Motown” and “Dreamgirls”. I really hope another is not down the pike 

[ACL2006]

It's early, but the fact that not much has changed through it's FOUR out-of-town tryouts makes me feel this will last only a year.

[natashalost]

Can someone who was there last night/tonight please post who the understudies are? Playbill doesn't seem to list them on their website yet.