Motown: The Musical, which is now playing at the Pantages in Hollywood, is one of those shows where you walk in humming the score. It's the story of Berry Gordy and Motown Records, and it stars a huge, indecently-talented cast and more hit songs than have ever before inhabited a Broadway presentation. The sheer number of hits will overpower you, as will the skillful way in which the cast and orchestra replicate well-known records.
If you're around my age (b., 1952), many of those songs connect with important, often emotional moments in your past…and as presented live in this show, some of them are very powerful and moving. Which ones you'll think are very powerful and moving will vary depending on your past but if you're in the proper age range, I'll bet you some of them register that way.
So: Great songs, great performances, great orchestra and great memories. That's all wonderful but I didn't think the storyline was. Berry Gordy, in founding the world's most successful independent record label, did not really have a "rags to riches" story, at least as presented here. It's more like "riches to more riches and then more riches." The show starts at the rehearsals for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Motown…so he's rich and famous when the curtain goes up. Then we flashback to his childhood and he's not rich and famous for about ten minutes. Then he is for the rest of the show.
Oh, there are struggles to be overcome when you're a wildly prosperous record producer. It can get messy sleeping with your biggest star. Some of those you discovered and nurtured may prove to be ingrates by leaving you when others offer them more money. You can even get sued once in a while and criticized for your business practices. I admire all that Mr. Gordy accomplished but it's hard to feel his pain when every ninety seconds, the cast breaks into another million-selling hit record that he helped birth and which brought him megabucks.
Gordy himself authored the book of this musical and probably oversaw every note and syllable of it. The Berry Gordy character is not only a great and heroic figure who only did right by the folks he had under contract, he's also — as depicted on stage — as talented a singer and dancer as anyone who ever appeared on the Motown label. His greatest failing, at least in this musical, is that one time when he went to bed with Diana Ross, he couldn't get it up. She responds lovingly by getting up, tearing off her nightie to reveal a Supremes-style sequined gown and singing, "I Hear a Symphony." Other than that, the man wrote a very fine tribute to himself.
But, you know, the plot doesn't matter a whole lot. The gent we saw last night as Berry Gordy, Julius Thomas III, was outstanding. The lady playing Diana Ross (Allison Semmes) was about as close a carbon as you could imagine. They have three very young men who rotate in the "child" roles. Each performance, one of them plays The Young Berry Gordy, The Young Stevie Wonder and The Young Michael Jackson. The one we got last night — Leon Outlaw, Jr. — was absolutely electric as The Young Michael. And even these three superb performances were upstaged by the repertoire and the sheer versatility of the cast as a whole.
I liked that just about everyone in the ensemble got their moment to shine as they quadrupled and quintupled in so many roles. There was something democratic (and perhaps telling about the caprices of stardom) that one guy plays The Adult Stevie Wonder and Jr. Walker Allstar, plus one of the Pips, one of the Miracles and also Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops. And one gal plays Mary Wells, Cindy Birdsong of the Supremes, one of Martha's Vandellas…and Berry Gordy's sister. Many of the mimics are so good, it's frustrating when a favorite song is truncated, as most are.
I should also complain that the show is too loud. It was too loud where Carolyn and I were sitting. I ran into the great writer Carl Gottlieb there and he said it was too loud where he was, sitting on the other side of the theater. I suspect it was too loud if you were just hanging around across the street in the parking lot. But I still enjoyed myself very much.
Waiting in the men's room after, a gent was complaining to me that it was too loud and too long. I agreed with him about the loud part but asked, "Okay…which ten terrific songs should they have left out?" He said, "Well, okay." Then he added, "I think I have to come back. There was just too much there to absorb in one viewing."
Like I said, I enjoyed it tremendously. I doubt I'll be back but there were sure parts of it I'd like to see again. Maybe what I'll just do is play some Motown records…in full and with my hand on the volume knob. The real Marvin Gaye was almost as good as the guy who played him in Motown: The Musical.