REVIEW: Motown The Musical

Motown the Musical…

OK, so when you have the score already written for you, you think people would focus on the book… well, they didn’t quite get it right this time.

The Jukebox Musical has come a long way since the world was made to sit through Mamma Mia. Shows like Jersey Boys have really set the standard on how the Jukebox, especially the “non-fiction” shows should be structured and put together. And then when you compare Motown with Memphis, well, there is nothing to really compare. Memphis is a well thought our structure musical and Motown is a lot of Barry Gordy produced hits randomly slapped together with very little structure.

HOWEVER, I don’t want to take anything away from the people performing on the stage or in the pit. WOW… nothing but WOW! Most of this cast have come from In The Heights, Memphis, Lion King, Caroline or Change etc… They know what they are doing and they do it well, they just aren’t supported by a good book.

The two leads Brandon Victor Dixtor (Barry Gordy) and Felicia Boswell (Diana Ross) are great and manage to capture the elements of their character really well. I was fortunate enough to see Ms Boswell absolutely nail the leading role in Memphis and went into this show with similar expectations and she did not disappoint, especially in Act 2 where she had really warmed up. The other stand out performer is someone who I fell in love with during Godspell two years ago, Morgan James… As one the only non African-American female cast members in the cast, she holds her own and makes her mark with a such a small part as Teena Marie

So, if I am being honest, the soundtrack captures the best parts of this show. The vocal harmonies and re-imagination of some of the ‘classic’ Motown tracks are worth a listen to, but if you only have a couple of nights on Broadway, go check out 54 Below!