Motown the Musical - My Review

[kenneth]

I had the pleasure of enjoying “Motown the Musical” last night at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Our seats were great, Row P, Left Orchestra, which sounds far back but isn’t in that venue which holds 2,703, seats. The sight and sound of the stage was perfect. The audience was ready for the show. At the first sounds of the orchestra opening with “Get Ready” done in a big, bombastic style, some of the people were already waving their arms and dancing in their seats to the music. Clearly, this was an audience who wanted to love “Motown.”

The story is framed by the “Motown 25" event of 1983 and starts out with Berry refusing to attend, and attempts to persuade him to go by Suzanne de Passe and Smokey Robinson. This works well as a touch point to then go back and trace the history of Motown over its [[then) 25 year history.

The trajectory of the sketchy story has already been discussed at length in other reviews so I won’t spend a lot of time on it. Suffice to say that this is, after all, a jukebox musical, and as such, isn’t much on story. A few scenes were set in young Berry Gordy, Jr.’s home, and at the Flame Bar in Detroit, to establish Gordy’s beginnings as a second rate boxer, record store owner and [[in the words of one of his sisters, I think it was Esther) a “29 year old loser.” But once “Motown” entered the storyline, you had to either know the Motown history or be awfully quick to catch references, as references were all you got, to what we aficionados consider milestones in the life of this amazing company.

Some liberties were taken with the timing of events. Historical events were referred to briefly via the use of film or video projected on stage.

In my opinion, the male singers fared far better than the female singers. Outstanding especially was Reed L. Shannon as the young Michael Jackson. [[Apparently, he alternates in the role, as well as playing Little Stevie Wonder and young young Berry Gordy, Jr., with two other actors.) In the LA reviews, Leon Outlaw, Jr., is the young actor who is praised in this role, but I can’t imagine anyone sang better [[or more like Michael) than did Shannon. Shannon was simply incredible especially in his rendition of “Who’s Loving You,” which I have always felt was one of Michael’s most outstanding performances.

Also worthy were Julius Thomas III as Berry Gordy, Jesse Nager as Smokey, and Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. [[an understudy) as Marvin Gaye. Thomas as Gordy had a few original songs penned for the show, including one called “It’s What’s in the Grooves that Counts.” He had a good, strong voice with a lot of nuance. Nager as Smokey emulated the singer’s style and stylings, and acted well the role of the guy who went along to get along. Jackson as Gaye seemed sluggish and out of character in the first act, but by the second act when he sang the more evocative songs of Gaye such as “What’s Going On” seemed more comfortable in the role.

I think the problem with the female singers was they all sang the same way. Every female singer, whether it be Ross, Reeves, Gladys Knight [[ever so briefly) or even Mary Wells was presented as a gospel style belter, as if everyone connected with the show grew up on Whitney Houston. While “Dancing in the Streets” and “Please Mr. Postman” may not have suffered by this type of treatment [[though even Martha Reeves knew when and how to be subtle even in some of her thriving dance classics), hearing Diane Ross belt out “Reach Out and Touch” just sounded strange. While the use of this style for “Bye Bye Baby” by Mary Wells may have been justified, none of Wells’ soft, breathy vocals were used to any degree on “My Guy” which was presented as [[yet) another showstopping anthem. In addition, all the female singers had similar tones, and to me, were virtually interchangeable. I felt they totally lacked any connection to the real performers of these classic tunes.

I think the male actors fared better acting wise as well, although Allison Semmes was the only female character [[Diane) to have anything resembling a part. The Gordy sisters [[Esther, Anna, and I think Loucye was mentioned as well) were treated more as a Greek Chorus, just commenting on the action, most notably in the early scenes as Berry was trying to establish himself.

But to me the worst case of miscasting was Semmes as Diane. Semmes had none of Diane’s subtlety, breath control or appeal. As mentioned, she belted out every song at the top of her lungs. While she had a pleasant voice, it had none of Ross’s taste or appeal in any way, shape or form. There was a long, extended version of “Reach Out and Touch,” performed as if it was part of Ross’s Las Vegas act, in which two [[real) members of the audience sang along with Diane, just as [[I believe) she did in her concerts. Then, “Diane” asked the entire audience to join hands and raise them as they sang along. The lady to my left, a stranger, immediately grabbed my hand, getting into the spirit of the moment. It was moving and touching, but it certainly didn’t evoke Diane Ross.

But as far as acting, Semmes as Diane evoked nothing of the real Ross. She was short and a bit voluptuous. She was played as a vixen or a seductress. She neither had the look of Diane nor Ross’s charming awkwardness which she displayed in her early days [[the flashing eyes, the kind of “geeky” movements on stage which people grew to love about her). Gordy tried to portray Ross as a Diva, and no doubt she is [[and maybe even was at the time), but those efforts came across as self-serving in order to promote Gordy’s own sterling character. I think the character in “Dream Girls” was much closer to the real Diane than this plastic imitation.

None of the early stars got any mention. No Satintones, no Mabel John, no Eddie Holland prior to being a part of H-D-H. Mickey Stevenson was introduced very briefly but no mention of Kim Weston, nor Brenda Holloway. But I found it most disconcerting that Tammi Terrell didn’t get one mention, and was irritated that one of the most beloved of the Gaye-Terrell duets “You’re All I Need to Get By” was hijacked as a love song between Berry and Diane. [[Diane, of course, also performed “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” but of course the character came by the right to perform that one legitimately.)

Some of the tunes were awkwardly shoe horned into the plot. In addition to “You’re All I Need” becoming a love duet for Diane and Berry, “I Hear a Symphony” was sung by Diane to Berry in bed after a liaison in which he was impotent and couldn’t make love to her [[!). Why this was written this way is anyone’s guess. Needless to say, that plot point was never mentioned again.

The book was clearly written by Gordy as it portrayed him as a hero, except in the briefest of mentions. He was presented as this wonderful paternal figure whose ungrateful children all left him as soon as they could get more money. While this can be seen as true in the most general sense, there was no mention made of how Gordy controlled or manipulated his artists, how he denied them royalties, how they were treated as interchangeable parts, etc. Of course, the old adage is that if you live the longest, you get to be the one to write the history, and that seems to have been proven here.

Most notably omitted from the plot was the fact that Gordy was married much of the time he was with Ross. Ross's first marriage was also omitted entirely and her children were never mentioned, including [[of course) the one which Gordy fathered. Gordy's foray into films is dealt with as a major plot device but only "Lady Sings the Blues" is discussed. "Mahogany" is mentioned once while supposedly it was in production, but its critical failure is ignored. "The Wiz" isn't mentioned at all. Gordy's failures as a film producer are attributed to his lack of money to play with "the big boys" [["Hollywood taste on a Detroit budget" is one of the lines that refers to this), rather than his poor choice of projects and what many consider as the terrible miscasting of Ross as Dorothy in "The Wiz" which certainly tanked her movie career for quite some time. Florence's demise and death is also completely ignored, which seems unbelievable as that was one of Motown's very early tragedies.

I think a lot of credit was taken, not entirely deserved, for Motown being leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. If anything, I think at the time Motown was criticized for being out of touch with the move towards greater civil rights. While certainly Motown did enormous things for people of color with talent, they resisted any political statements or recordings until far, far into the movement when [[finally) they started releasing music [[usually produced by either Norman Whitfield or Marvin Gaye) such as “War,” “Cloud 9,” and so on. There was a brief sequence where the Black Forum label was mentioned, yet do even most Motown fans know about this label which lived all too briefly in the late 60s? While Motown in general can be given much credit for what it did for civil rights, mainly by bringing black music into the mainstream, I think political statements were outside Motown’s realm and really not what this company, and its music, was all about.

All in all, though, I have to say the audience loved the show. To someone like myself as intimately acquainted with Motown it’s hard to enjoy it as pure entertainment. For that I’d have to have all the plot points stripped out of it and just see performers sing the songs. While no one can say there’s anything blatantly untrue here in the story presented, it clearly is only one side of the story. I suppose it’s too much to expect that anyone else will come along to write another side of the story, but that seems to be something that would at least satisfy those harder core “truthers" such as myself.

[milven]

Thanks for your detailed review. All your points and criticisms seem valid. I saw the NYC production four times because I love Motown. But that love of Motown also meant that I knew most of the real facts about Motown. I guess the show was designed for the mass audience, not for the Motown aficionado. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the show. These types of biographical movies and shows use a lot of poetic license. Events are moved, characters are eliminated, some real characters are combined to make one fictional character. I noticed this in movies about Jolson, Billie Holiday, George M Cohan and so many others. It's the norm. I accept these poetic licenses and enjoy the show.

But the one thing in MOTOWN that did upset me was the elimination of SOMEDAY as the finale of Motown 25. There was no need to replace the song except perhaps to not bring attention to the Diana Mary Supreme fiasco.

If the show is near you, try to see it. It is a night of entertainment, but it is not a documentary.

[kenneth]

How right you are, Milven. Thanks for your comments. I too missed the "Someday" and I couldn't figure out why they didn't use it, except for the reason you mention. Thanks for bringing that up. Yes, the show is a crowd pleaser definitely, and I should say because I didn't in my review that they loved the actress who played Diane although I felt she was completely miscast.

[reese]

I've seen the show three times, twice on Broadway. I've enjoyed it each time, but IMO, none of the actresses who portrayed Diana came close to the original,Valisa LeKae, who did a fantastic job without resorting to caricature.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Great review, Kenny. Thanks!

[kenneth]

Great review, Kenny. Thanks!

Thanks Bro! K

[RobertZ]

I had the pleasure of enjoying “Motown the Musical” last night at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Our seats were great, Row P, Left Orchestra, which sounds far back but isn’t in that venue which holds 2,703, seats.

Some liberties were taken with the timing of events. Historical events were referred to briefly via the use of film or video projected on stage.

In my opinion, the male singers fared far better than the female singers. Outstanding especially was Reed L. Shannon as the young Michael Jackson. [[Apparently, he alternates in the role, as well as playing Little Stevie Wonder and young young Berry Gordy, Jr., with two other actors.) In the LA reviews, Leon Outlaw, Jr., is the young actor who is praised in this role, but I can’t imagine anyone sang better [[or more like Michael) than did Shannon. Shannon was simply incredible especially in his rendition of “Who’s Loving You,” which I have always felt was one of Michael’s most outstanding performances.

Also worthy were Julius Thomas III as Berry Gordy, Jesse Nager as Smokey, and Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. [[an understudy) as Marvin Gaye. Thomas as Gordy had a few original songs penned for the show, including one called “It’s What’s in the Grooves that Counts.” He had a good, strong voice with a lot of nuance. Nager as Smokey emulated the singer’s style and stylings, and acted well the role of the guy who went along to get along. Jackson as Gaye seemed sluggish and out of character in the first act, but by the second act when he sang the more evocative songs of Gaye such as “What’s Going On” seemed more comfortable in the role.

I think the problem with the female singers was they all sang the same way. Every female singer, whether it be Ross, Reeves, Gladys Knight [[ever so briefly) or even Mary Wells was presented as a gospel style belter, as if everyone connected with the show grew up on Whitney Houston. While “Dancing in the Streets” and “Please Mr. Postman” may not have suffered by this type of treatment [[though even Martha Reeves knew when and how to be subtle even in some of her thriving dance classics), hearing Diane Ross belt out “Reach Out and Touch” just sounded strange. While the use of this style for “Bye Bye Baby” by Mary Wells may have been justified, none of Wells’ soft, breathy vocals were used to any degree on “My Guy” which was presented as [[yet) another showstopping anthem. In addition, all the female singers had similar tones, and to me, were virtually interchangeable. I felt they totally lacked any connection to the real performers of these classic tunes.

I think the male actors fared better acting wise as well, although Allison Semmes was the only female character [[Diane) to have anything resembling a part. The Gordy sisters [[Esther, Anna, and I think Loucye was mentioned as well) were treated more as a Greek Chorus, just commenting on the action, most notably in the early scenes as Berry was trying to establish himself.

But to me the worst case of miscasting was Semmes as Diane. Semmes had none of Diane’s subtlety, breath control or appeal. As mentioned, she belted out every song at the top of her lungs. While she had a pleasant voice, it had none of Ross’s taste or appeal in any way, shape or form. There was a long, extended version of “Reach Out and Touch,” performed as if it was part of Ross’s Las Vegas act, in which two [[real) members of the audience sang along with Diane, just as [[I believe) she did in her concerts. Then, “Diane” asked the entire audience to join hands and raise them as they sang along. The lady to my left, a stranger, immediately grabbed my hand, getting into the spirit of the moment. It was moving and touching, but it certainly didn’t evoke Diane Ross.

But as far as acting, Semmes as Diane evoked nothing of the real Ross. She was short and a bit voluptuous. She was played as a vixen or a seductress. She neither had the look of Diane nor Ross’s charming awkwardness which she displayed in her early days [[the flashing eyes, the kind of “geeky” movements on stage which people grew to love about her). Gordy tried to portray Ross as a Diva, and no doubt she is [[and maybe even was at the time), but those efforts came across as self-serving in order to promote Gordy’s own sterling character. I think the character in “Dream Girls” was much closer to the real Diane than this plastic imitation.

None of the early stars got any mention. No Satintones, no Mabel John, no Eddie Holland prior to being a part of H-D-H. Mickey Stevenson was introduced very briefly but no mention of Kim Weston, nor Brenda Holloway. But I found it most disconcerting that Tammi Terrell didn’t get one mention, and was irritated that one of the most beloved of the Gaye-Terrell duets “You’re All I Need to Get By” was hijacked as a love song between Berry and Diane. [[Diane, of course, also performed “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” but of course the character came by the right to perform that one legitimately.)

Some of the tunes were awkwardly shoe horned into the plot. In addition to “You’re All I Need” becoming a love duet for Diane and Berry, “I Hear a Symphony” was sung by Diane to Berry in bed after a liaison in which he was impotent and couldn’t make love to her [[!). Why this was written this way is anyone’s guess. Needless to say, that plot point was never mentioned again.

The book was clearly written by Gordy as it portrayed him as a hero, except in the briefest of mentions. He was presented as this wonderful paternal figure whose ungrateful children all left him as soon as they could get more money. While this can be seen as true in the most general sense, there was no mention made of how Gordy controlled or manipulated his artists, how he denied them royalties, how they were treated as interchangeable parts, etc. Of course, the old adage is that if you live the longest, you get to be the one to write the history, and that seems to have been proven here.

Most notably omitted from the plot was the fact that Gordy was married much of the time he was with Ross. Ross's first marriage was also omitted entirely and her children were never mentioned, including [[of course) the one which Gordy fathered. Gordy's foray into films is dealt with as a major plot device but only "Lady Sings the Blues" is discussed. "Mahogany" is mentioned once while supposedly it was in production, but its critical failure is ignored. "The Wiz" isn't mentioned at all. Gordy's failures as a film producer are attributed to his lack of money to play with "the big boys" [["Hollywood taste on a Detroit budget" is one of the lines that refers to this), rather than his poor choice of projects and what many consider as the terrible miscasting of Ross as Dorothy in "The Wiz" which certainly tanked her movie career for quite some time. Florence's demise and death is also completely ignored, which seems unbelievable as that was one of Motown's very early tragedies.

I think a lot of credit was taken, not entirely deserved, for Motown being leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. If anything, I think at the time Motown was criticized for being out of touch with the move towards greater civil rights. While certainly Motown did enormous things for people of color with talent, they resisted any political statements or recordings until far, far into the movement when [[finally) they started releasing music [[usually produced by either Norman Whitfield or Marvin Gaye) such as “War,” “Cloud 9,” and so on. There was a brief sequence where the Black Forum label was mentioned, yet do even most Motown fans know about this label which lived all too briefly in the late 60s? While Motown in general can be given much credit for what it did for civil rights, mainly by bringing black music into the mainstream, I think political statements were outside Motown’s realm and really not what this company, and its music, was all about.

All in all, though, I have to say the audience loved the show. To someone like myself as intimately acquainted with Motown it’s hard to enjoy it as pure entertainment. For that I’d have to have all the plot points stripped out of it and just see performers sing the songs. While no one can say there’s anything blatantly untrue here in the story presented, it clearly is only one side of the story. I suppose it’s too much to expect that anyone else will come along to write another side of the story, but that seems to be something that would at least satisfy those harder core “truthers" such as myself.

I'm curious. Like others here you refer to Diana Ross as "Diane". Of course everyone knows that is Ms. Ross' birth-name. But she has used "Diana" as her professional name since at least 1964. Are you aware of this? Is Ms. Ross a family member of yours? Are you "subtly" implying disrespect or simply trying to be one of the "cool kids"? If you were reviewing Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, etc, would you use their birth-names instead of their accepted stage names? It's odd - and a bit - sad.

[detmotownguy]

Thanks Kenneth!

[motown4ever]

Kenneth, your review was a triumph. Very well done. I took my daughter to see the show in NYC for her 16th birthday, and it was great entertainment. As someone who is on this sight I did not expect to learn anything and did not. In looking at the audience, there were folks who fit my age group , but in chatting with them, they were more theater fans, musical fans, or casual Motowners. Honestly, I wish I had reached out to fellow followers on this sight to meet up with on the day that I attended. In walking away, a least some folks had an idea of the scope of Motown and how seemingly random pieces fit together.

The litmus test or me is that he show is coming to my area later this year, and I have no plans to attend. Again a great night out, but for me, once was enough.

[Roberta75]

I thank you for your review Kenneth dear. My Aunt Regina and 3 of her girl pals went yesterday afternoon and loved loved loved Motown the musical and loved the cast and the music and the sets and said the pantagges theater was packed packed packed and the audience was having a real great time and getting down. Im going in 2 weeks with my nephew and his partner and cant wait. I think we in this here forum know more about Motown than the casual fan and thats why were more critical.

Thank you you for the reviews.

yours, with every good wish.

Roberta

[kenneth]

Thanks Roberta! I'm sure they'll love it. Yes, it was definitely sold out last night, too. In fact, it was practically sold out when I bought my tickets a month ago. Hope you enjoy!

[kenneth]

I'm curious. Like others here you refer to Diana Ross as "Diane". Of course everyone knows that is Ms. Ross' birth-name. But she has used "Diana" as her professional name since at least 1964. Are you aware of this? Is Ms. Ross a family member of yours? Are you "subtly" implying disrespect or simply trying to be one of the "cool kids"? If you were reviewing Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, etc, would you use their birth-names instead of their accepted stage names? It's odd - and a bit - sad.

Actually, I think Diana is her birth name. No disrespect intended, I assure you. I grew up in Detroit and everyone always referred to her as "Diane," including the lady herself when she introduced the group to audiences. Coming from Detroit, I guess we just view her as a home town girl, hence the familiarity. Don't see anything sad about that. Anyway, I love the lady!

[jobeterob]

I think most of us would feel like Kenneth. I know it would drive me nuts and I'd be pointing out "generalizations" and "poetic truths" to whomever came with me!

I might be able to go to Detroit next spring. I wonder what will be on!

Good review Ken!

[kenneth]

I think most of us would feel like Kenneth. I know it would drive me nuts and I'd be pointing out "generalizations" and "poetic truths" to whomever came with me!

I might be able to go to Detroit next spring. I wonder what will be on!

Good review Ken!

Thanks Rob! Yes, I had to resist annotating the performance to my innocent guest!

[Methuselah2]

Kenneth - I haven't seen the show but read your extremely well-written review with great interest. A very heartfelt and insightful piece. Thank you.

[kenneth]

Kenneth, your review was a triumph. Very well done. I took my daughter to see the show in NYC for her 16th birthday, and it was great entertainment. As someone who is on this sight I did not expect to learn anything and did not. In looking at the audience, there were folks who fit my age group , but in chatting with them, they were more theater fans, musical fans, or casual Motowners. Honestly, I wish I had reached out to fellow followers on this sight to meet up with on the day that I attended. In walking away, a least some folks had an idea of the scope of Motown and how seemingly random pieces fit together.

The litmus test or me is that he show is coming to my area later this year, and I have no plans to attend. Again a great night out, but for me, once was enough.

motown4ever,

Did you like the "Reach Out and Touch" segment? That was my favorite part of the whole show. Does your daughter enjoy the music?

[kenneth]

Kenneth - I haven't seen the show but read your extremely well-written review with great interest. A very heartfelt and insightful piece. Thank you.

Thanks Methuselah2! K

[REDHOT]

I disagree with your review Kenneth,the young lady Allison Semmes,who played Diana Ross was on point,she had Diana style,and everything,she was funny tho lol,what a beautiful young lady,love the way they put the story together,right the young kid Reed L.Shannon who played Michael Jackson the audience loved[[he was great)Julius Thomaslll as Berry Gordy wow,when he sang Can I Closet The Door To Love,i'm like dammmmm he can sing,Jesse Nager as Smokey,Jarran Muse Jr as Marvin Gaye,the dancers,the music,the whole Ensemble was great,i also saw it on Broadway,loved it there,and loved it here in Los Angeles Ca,it's so many things that good about this play,i'm plainin' to go see it again,Charles Randolph-Wright as the Director,was also on point,STANDING OVATION

[kenneth]

I disagree with your review Kenneth,the young lady Allison Semmes,who played Diana Ross was on point,she had Diana style,and everything,she was funny tho lol,what a beautiful young lady,love the way they put the story together,right the young kid Reed L.Shannon who played Michael Jackson the audience loved[[he was great)Julius Thomaslll as Berry Gordy wow,when he sang Can I Closet The Door To Love,i'm like dammmmm he can sing,Jesse Nager as Smokey,Jarran Muse Jr as Marvin Gaye,the dancers,the music,the whole Ensemble was great,i also saw it on Broadway,loved it there,and loved it here in Los Angeles Ca,it's so many things that good about this play,i'm plainin' to go see it again,Charles Randolph-Wright as the Director,was also on point,STANDING OVATION

I wish I could have seen it with you, Redhot. It would have been great to meet you. So you didn't find the singing styles of the ladies to be too similar to styles today and not very Motown-ish? That's interesting.

[rod_rick]

I wish I could have seen it with you, Redhot. It would have been great to meet you. So you didn't find the singing styles of the ladies to be too similar to styles today and not very Motown-ish? That's interesting.

Hey Kenneth
I haven't seen the show yet but I have several friends that have seen several of the productions and their review or feedback regarding the show were the same as yours, especially regarding the lead Diana Ross character. In your opinion does the Berry Gordy character upstage or outshine the Diana Ross character?

[REDHOT]

Thanks Kenneth,i'm sure it would have been fun meetin' you,the way i saw it,they had to put as much as they could,in this play in 2 hours,tell as much as they could,and still make it entertaining,that i think they did,we can agree to disagree,don't get it wrong,i still enjoyed your review.

[kenneth]

Thanks Kenneth,i'm sure it would have been fun meetin' you,the way i saw it,they had to put as much as they could,in this play in 2 hours,tell as much as they could,and still make it entertaining,that i think they did,we can agree to disagree,don't get it wrong,i still enjoyed your review.

Hey, I'm not always right...not by any stretch...!

[kenneth]

Hey Kenneth
I haven't seen the show yet but I have several friends that have seen several of the productions and their review or feedback regarding the show were the same as yours, especially regarding the lead Diana Ross character. In your opinion does the Berry Gordy character upstage or outshine the Diana Ross character?

Well, Berry is clearly the central figure. I also think he was played by a better actor than the Ross character. I just didn't find the Diane character to be believable. She was too vampish, too sophisticated. You never got the sense of how she was when she was starting out and there didn't seem to be anywhere for the character to go. But Redhot loved it and thought Semmes was great as Diane.

The Berry character also had the only original songs in the production so that shone a lot of light on him as well, in that aside from "Dancing in the Streets" and "Reach Out and Touch", and maybe "Ball of Confusion," I don't think anything else from the catalog was performed as more than a few snippets. So the Berry character definitely had the most stage time as well as the most music [[of his own, at least, and performed in the entirety).

[Roberta75]

Thanks Kenneth,i'm sure it would have been fun meetin' you,the way i saw it,they had to put as much as they could,in this play in 2 hours,tell as much as they could,and still make it entertaining,that i think they did,we can agree to disagree,don't get it wrong,i still enjoyed your review.

2 hours? has it been cut for LA cause my Aunt Regina said iMotown the Musicals was almost 3 hours.

Roberta

[Roberta75]

Thanks Roberta! I'm sure they'll love it. Yes, it was definitely sold out last night, too. In fact, it was practically sold out when I bought my tickets a month ago. Hope you enjoy!

Thank you dear.

Fondly,

Roberta

[kenneth]

2 hours? has it been cut for LA cause my Aunt Regina said iMotown the Musicals was almost 3 hours.

Roberta

It's close to being a 3 hour show. Act I itself was 90 minutes. Act II, I think was about an hour, though I didn't notice the time at the end. It might have been a little longer. As usual though, Act II was definitely shorter than Act I.

[Roberta75]

It's close to being a 3 hour show. Act I itself was 90 minutes. Act II, I think was about an hour, though I didn't notice the time at the end. It might have been a little longer. As usual though, Act II was definitely shorter than Act I.

Thank you Keneth.

Yours, with every good wish.

Roberta

[kenneth]

Thank you Keneth.

Yours, with every good wish.

Roberta

Remember, we still haven't had that date we discussed a while back! We have to meet one of these days, Dear Friend.

[Roberta75]

Remember, we still haven't had that date we discussed a while back! We have to meet one of these days, Dear Friend.

That would be real real nice dear Kenneth.

Fondly,

Roberta

[REDHOT]

Ok 3 hours smh,even Mary Wilson and Diana Ross has seen it more the once,i don't think they've seen the Los Angeles Ca cast yet,i'm sure they will see it,before it leaves tho,i must say,the Premier here was a BLAST.

[supremester]

Kenneth: When i saw it on Broadway, none of the females leads were represented vocally with accuracy except for Diana. Mary Wells was actually insulting to her legend. It's a play BASED on Motown, so there doesn't have to be any true representation of anything.

[kenneth]

Kenneth: When i saw it on Broadway, none of the females leads were represented vocally with accuracy except for Diana. Mary Wells was actually insulting to her legend. It's a play BASED on Motown, so there doesn't have to be any true representation of anything.

Clearly, it's an entertainment vehicle. But to me the disappointment comes from the fact that the great ladies of Motown were all so different and distinctive in their vocal gifts, and the way they were cast made them all seem like the same kind of singer.