Reviews of Motown the Musical

[smark21]

Reviews for Motown are starting to come in [[press and critics preview night was late last week:







The AP is mixed:
"The 2½-hour show, about Motown Records under founder Berry Gordy, opened Sunday at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre completely unbalanced: The songs are staggering, the book utterly flimsy.
...
Charles Randolph-Wright proves a director with real skill, able to seamlessly juggle an insane amount of songs, dozens of scenes and harness some quite stunning performances, led by a go-for-it Brandon Victor Dixon as Gordy and Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross, who especially shines during an ad lib moment with the audience."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/review-motown-musical-has-a-staggering-soundtrack-but-a-flimsy-book/2013/04/14/fd4cf598-a561-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_story.html

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AM NY gives the show two stars, but doesn't have many positive things to say about it. So..negative?:
"“Jersey Boys,” which is undeniably the best of the jukebox genre, unhesitatingly addressed the Four Seasons’ gritty past, while “Motown” hides all traces of scandal under the rug. Even the racial tensions of the period are addressed too fleetingly to make an impact.

Ironically, while “Motown” bemoans how the music industry was ultimately swallowed up by corporate giants that wooed away Gordy’s major clients with wild offers, the musical is essentially a company history section of a corporate website."

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theater-review-motown-the-musical-2-stars-1.5071506

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Backstage is mixed to negative, with a C-:
"According to the Playbill for “Motown: The Musical,” the show stuffs 67 songs into its two-hour-and-45-minute running time. Such abundance suggests that impresario Berry Gordy—who created the fabulously successful music factory and has written and produced this entertainment about its history—has strong convictions about what his audience wants. If you are looking to bathe in nostalgia evoked by beloved tunes while watching talented and committed professionals do their industrious best to locate the magic of legendary performers, this is the show for you. If you prefer a well-written story with multidimensional characters that digs beneath the surface and uses song with dramatic acumen, then steer clear."

http://www.backstage.com/review/ny-theater/broadway/motown-the-musical-bathes-berry-gordy-diana-ross/

[alexgarret]

All of this was expected. The majority of the public doesn't care what critics say and I doubt this will have any effect on ticket sales.

[thomas96]

I bet 95% of people who see it and aren't huge Motown junkies, will love it. I will probably see it at some point, but my expectations aren't too high. The music and broadway talent is probably great, but the story will be very flimsy. All is expected though. Berry wasn't going to reveal all the company secrets in a broadway musical.

[smark21]

Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/motown-musical-theater-review-439314

[carole cucumber]

http://www.fromanormaleye.com/2013/04/motown-musical.html

[smark21]

NY Times Review:

http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/theater/reviews/motown-the-musical-berry-gordys-story.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

[smark21]

More reviews:

Chicago Tribune is mixed to negative:
"If only he'd first taken "Motown the Musical" out of town.
He should have started with home first. "Motown," which is narratively anchored around the label's 25th anniversay show in Pasadena, Calif., in 1983 and flashes backward from there, has no clear point of view, no rich storytelling and nowhere near enough Detroit.
...
The concert scenes are the best scenes, and the music still sometimes thrills [[when the numbers are not squelched and squashed). How could these songs not thrill? And, there is one thing at the Lunt-Fontanne to really love: the talent in the show acts as a reminder of why Motown became Motown in the first place.
Whopping young talent, given a big break by the right man at the right time, a man who should have stepped back now and watched and listened."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/sc-ent-0414-motown-broadway-review-20130414,0,2588592.column

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NJ Newsroom is mixed to positive:
"Smoothly representing various members of The Temptations, The Commodores, The Marvelettes and The Vandellas, among others, as well as popping up as various icons like Gladys Knight, Jackie Wilson, Mary Wells and Stevie Wonder, members of the ensemble sharply portray as many as four and five individuals apiece. Thanks in part to the flashy period costumes designed by Esosa and the energetic vintage choreography created by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, these exuberant impersonations are highly satisfying.

Randolph-Wright’s staging keeps the action moving quickly while designer David Korins’ stylized settings cleverly frame the scenes in various ways. The lighting designed by Natasha Katz contributes energy and beautiful colors to the proceedings, which warmly celebrate a towering song stack of musical memories."
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/motown-the-musical-broadway-review-motowns-greatest-hits-stack-up-as-a-show

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NBC is positive:
"Emilio Sosa’s costumes are as glitzy as you’d anticipate, with an emphasis on sequins. David Korins’ scenery, with a reliance on sliding panels, effectively transports us from the label’s Detroit home, “Hitsville, U.S.A.,” to Paris and back to Pasadena.

From a structural standpoint, “Motown” will be compared to the far superior “Jersey Boys.” Still, there are worse problems to have than a bloated script. “Motown” has a built-in audience and is likely to prosper for the foreseeable future: reports have the musical enjoying healthier advance ticket sales than even “Matilda” and “Lucky Guy.” Chalk up one more hit, at age 83, for Berry Gordy."
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/motown-review-kahn-202849641.html

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Entertainment Weekly is mixed with a B-:
"At its best, the new Broadway show — produced and scripted by Gordy himself — plays like a theme night on an all-star season of American Idol, packing in nearly 60 songs from a wide swath of the label's most recognizable artists. But between the energetic musical performances, backed by a tight 18-piece orchestra and boasting spirited choreography by Patirica Wilcox and Warren Adams, the cast is left to grapple with Berry's frankly amateurish book.

Granted, it must be tough to condense decades of history, dozens of artists, and all those glorious songs into a coherent narrative. And naturally, Gordy presents a rose-tinted account of his history [[his one stab at self-deprecation comes in an awkward morning-after bedroom scene, when his newly minted lover Diana Ross reassures him, 'It's all right, I'm a little tired, too')."

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20364394_20690921,00.html
Variety is negative:
"Berry Gordy [[take your bow, Brandon Victor Dixon, but don’t overdo it), meanwhile, is home in L.A., framed by his gold and platinum records and brooding at the injustice of it all, that this tribute should come from the “family” of musicians he discovered, but who deserted him for the big labels once they became famous and wanted to make real money.

In this bitterly reflective mood, Gordy recalls the beginning of “the dream,” on the memorable day in 1938 when Joe Louis became the first black heavyweight champ and fired his own ambitions. That’s the signal for David Korins’ set [[with an assist from Daniel Brodie’s projections) to do its clunky job of transporting Gordy to a series of clumsy book scenes that show Gordy in the most saintly light possible while recounting both the triumphs and setbacks of building Motown Records. [[The name, by the way, comes to him in a blush of inspiration as he searches for “something that captures our roots, like The Motor City, but it feels more like a town to me … Motortown … Motortown … Motown.”)
...
The less said about the acting the better. [[Diana Ross could sue for defamation for Valisia LeKae’s grisly rendering of her.) But there are some great, big, glorious voices in this show, LeKae’s among them, so it doesn’t seem fair to condemn good singers for being lousy actors."
http://variety.com/2013/legit/reviews/legit-review-motown-1200364348/

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Village Voice is mixed:
"It's all too much [[in fact, the scene where we learn JFK has been assassinated gets an unwanted giggle), but the script moves better in Act Two, with less jokiness getting in the way of the motion. And besides, there's that music, which is still exciting, whether it be rousingly brassy [["Dancing in the Street"), quirky [["Square Biz"), or just plain sweet [["My Guy").

The Charles Randolph-Wright-directed production is attractive, and his cast members prove to be worthy interpreters. Gifted Brandon Victor Dixon does his best with the central but shadowy part of Gordy, who basically comes off like a nice guy with a mission. Valisia Lekae captures Diana Ross's shimmery glamour and ambition. [[She's seen singing "Good Morning Heartache" on a large screen as it's announced that Liza Minnelli won the Oscar. Before that, Gordy tells her, "You've been acting your whole life," then diplomatically adds, "We all have.")"
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2013/04/motown_the_musi_2.php


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NY Magazine is negative:
"In a production whose very title is a brand, cynical almost goes without saying. Even the show curtain features a backlit, gold-leafed Motown M. Yet the cynicism goes much deeper than that. In telling the story of Berry Gordy, founder and longtime chairman of the once-great record company, the book writer [[one Berry Gordy, assisted by various script doctors) manages to include at least snippets of 59 songs, including a few new ones, associated with Motown artists. What a coincidence that the lead producers of the show include, yes, Berry Gordy and Doug Morris, CEO of Sony Music, which controls the catalog.
This would be of only trifling concern—Broadway is a business, after all—if the show were good. But that’s where the naïveté comes in. To a roomful of people who have rarely if ever been part of the creation of a major musical, perhaps it seemed sufficient to tie a few dozen presold numbers together with just enough thread to tell a story. [[Mamma Mia! has so far grossed more than $534 million on Broadway doing just that.) But the problem with jukeboxes has never been the songs. The problem is that when songs are forced to tell a tale they weren’t designed for, they lose their deeper effectiveness, and usually end up like leeches, no longer supporting but sucking. In that respect, Motown is the worst jukebox [[with the best tunes) I’ve ever encountered. The skeletal book has all the finesse of nightclub patter, with its and-then-I-wrote monotony and jaw-dropping segues [[“My dream started long before that . . .”) to get from here to there. There are even reporters and announcers saying things like “It all started in a little house in Detroit.” They might as well be traffic signs."
http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/theater-review-motown-the-musical.html?mid=googlenews

[smark21]

And more:

TheaterMania is negative:
"Rather than giving us a complex portrait on this fascinating businessman, the show's shoddily written book is essentially a self-serving theatrical memoir in which Gordy gets to tell his life story. But just as importantly, the piece also serves as a celebration of the music that brought America's black and white populations together in a way nothing else ever did. Perhaps that is why Gordy and his creative team, led by director Charles Randolph-Wright, seem so worried they left out an audience favorite that they crammed in more than 50 hits. The result is that too few of the beloved Motown classics receive the kind of full-scale, all-out renditions they deserve. An early, extended version of Martha & The Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" proves not just a high point [[abetted by energetic choreography from Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams), but a false promise of what lies ahead."
http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/04-2013/motown-the-musical_64878.html

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Bloomberg.com is mixed:
"Over the course of this juicy soul jukebox show, we’ll watch irresistible performances of the Detroit-born classics that brought “race music” into the mainstream, from Jackie Wilson’s “Reet Petite” to the Supremes’s “Stop In The Name Of Love” and the Jackson Five’s “The Love You Save.”
There’s more unknown talent on display here -- poured into Esosa’s slinky skintight sequined gowns and tuxedos whose lapels peak somewhere north of male earlobes -- than a decade of Wednesday nights at Harlem’s Apollo Theater."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-15/hot-motown-bows-to-berry-gordy-the-call-nyc-theater.html

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Time Out NY is mixed with three out of five stars:
"Motown—The Musical left my eyes tired. For half of the show, they were glued to the stage; for the other half, they rolled up in disbelief to the farthest reaches of their sockets. Rarely has a Broadway musical offered such extremes of talent and inanity. The mountains are thrillingly high: glorious snatches of more than 50 classic pop songs from the catalogs of such Motown artists as Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Four Tops, the Temptations and the Jackson 5. But the valleys are abysmally low. The book sections of the show, in which Motown founder and Motown coproducer Berry Gordy Jr. traces 45 years of his own journey, is a compost heap of dubious history, wooden acting and risible dialogue—Little Berry: “I wanna be Joe Louis!” Pop: “Now son, there already is a Joe Louis. Just keep God inside you and be the best you you can be, and that will make me so proud”—all set beneath a flickering neon halo of self-hagiography."
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/motownthe-musical

[kenneth]

Thanks all for posting the links and the reviews. Funny, none of them, even the positive ones, make the show sound really worth seeing to me. Sounds like they needed some of the drama that "Dream Girls" had loads of. But what can you expect if Gordy wrote it?

I think the biggest zinger was the critic who said it was like a company bio on a corporate web site. Ouch!

[alexgarret]

Fine - tell that to the 16 million advance - the biggest of any this season - the public will eat it up. win-win for everyone.

[kenneth]

Fine - tell that to the 16 million advance - the biggest of any this season - the public will eat it up. win-win for everyone.

I guess we'll see. Word of mouth can kill a good advance. Anyway, I was talking about my opinion, not if the public might like it.

[Jimi LaLumia]

whatever..people want to hear the songs 'live', in a room full of like minded people, the 'book' is the last thing that matters.. as a wise man once said, "It's what's in the grooves that count"..the show will run for a million years, and I can't wait to experience it..

[kenneth]

Jimi - I'll be interested to hear what you think of it...K

[jobeterob]

I'll stick with one review I read: "This show is review-proof".

[thisoldheart]

bad book, 56 song snippets?! i will listen to full length motown hits the comfort of my own home. ain't nothin' like the real thing! this is exactly what i expected. i am surprised so many people here are excited by gordy's ego project.

[jobeterob]

The Huffington Post


During the second act of Motown: The Musical, Diana Ross [[Valisia LeKae), having just finished her first performance as a soloist, remarks to manager-boyfriend Berry Gordy Jr. [[Brandon Victor Dixon) that she hopes the audience got its money's worth. He replies, "They did."

He can say that again. There's no question that patrons at the Lunt-Fontaine Theatre -- certainly longtime "Motown sound" lovers -- are getting their money's worth. That's because too much about the production is visually and aurally pluperfect to raise much doubt. Okay, maybe a little doubt -- and what there is will be discussed farther down.

For the moment, however, there's a heap of praise to pass around, starting, of course, with the Motown music and moving on to the slick Charles Randolph-Wright direction and rousing Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams choreography, the fluid David Korins sets, augmented by Daniel Brodie's classy video design, and Esosa's flashy costumes.

Add to those Natasha Katz's explosive lighting, Peter Hylenski's meticulous sound, Charles G. LaPointe's fabbo hair and wigs and a cast of ebullient singers and dancers -- many of whom play multiple roles [[as, for instance, impersonating at various moments the Four Tops, the Commodores, the Contours, the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, Gladys Knight and the Pips).

Speaking of performances: Dixon's as the founder of Motown Records is outstanding. The actor's got passion, determination and a strong voice to project Gordy's beliefs, especially when they're expressed in song. Needless to say, they wouldn't have been sung in real life, but they're chanted here in new anthems to which Gordy has set words on Michael Lovesmith's music.

In the other pivotal turn, there's LeKae as Diana, known to close childhood friends like Mary Wilson [[Ariana DeBose) as Diane. Motown fans -- particularly partisans of The Supremes -- will wonder where the producers and casting mavens found someone with what up to now has been the singular Ross smile and the singular Ross LP-thin body. Plus, LeKae's got the pipes and acting chops with which to back up her convincing recreation.

There are any number of equally startling turns -- Charl Brown as a devoted Smokey Robinson, Bryan Terrell Clark as an increasingly activist Marvin Gaye, Eric LaJuan Summers as a dynamic Jackie Wilson, N'Kenge as an electric Mary Wells, Ryan Shaw as the adult Stevie Wonder. A special shoutout to Raymond Luke Jr., who plays the young Berry Gordy, the young Stevie Wonder and [[wow!) the young Michael Jackson. [[Jibreel Mawry alternates in the role.)

There's no way to watch Motown: The Musical without marveling at the bushels of catalog items that hit the '60s-'70s-'80s charts -- 50-plus of them in this line-up by staff writers like Lamont Dozier [[Julius Thomas III here), Edward Holland [[Daniel J. Watts) and Brian Holland [[Summers). These seeming effortlessly, irresistibly catchy numbers brought an easily identifiable lilting and fervent new sound to the national and international airwaves.

As these Top 10 releases, all originally recorded by the company's incomparable house band, roll by, the changes in them following the '60s social unrest -- particularly the protest numbers like "War," "What's Going On" and "Love Child" -- are reminders of the undeniable cultural force Motown has been.

So there are sufficient elements in the jukebox tuner to please any Motown advocate, and no one will argue the show hasn't been aimed towards that contingent. But what of the Gordy libretto? Truth to tell, it's somewhat unsatisfying as adapted by Gordy -- working with consultants David Goldsmith and Dick Scanlan -- from his 1994 autobiography, To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown.

Motown: The Musical is framed by NBC's 1983 25th birthday celebration, which brought together many, of not all, of the labels' acts. There's one significant participant missing at the festivities, and it isn't Tammi Terrell, who goes unmentioned throughout the hyperkinetic proceedings. It's Gordy himself. He's initially revealed at home, nursing hurt feelings about having been abandoned for other labels by many of the discoveries who've reunited for the broadcast.

While longtime associate and the variety-hour's producer Suzanne de Passe [[Andrea Dora) beseeches him to forgive and forget, he thinks back to his childhood dream of being someone. Then he reviews chronologically the history of the successful company he established and the recording artists that became an indispensable part of it.

As the reverie unfolds, Motown: The Musical is certainly Gordy's homage to the sound he created and his roster of soloists and groups. But mostly it's an exercise in honoring himself. including his developing and unraveling relationship with Ross. Perhaps for the sake of balance, he remembers a bedroom encounter when he was unable to perform, and she reassures him.

He recalls other developments along the way for which he notes no wrong-doing on his part, such as Mary Wells's departure [[she was the first of his stable to defect) and his eventual decision to move his headquarters from Detroit to Hollywood. He revisits obstacles faced like resistance from white music purveyors who labeled his product "race music" and therefore unplayable on pop stations. Indeed, the white characters in Motown: The Musical come across as stereotypes, but, oddly enough, so do some of the black characters.

Perhaps the problem is that too many of the book scenes are sketchy, cartoon-ish, diluted versions of what must have really occurred. Complicating matters is the obvious indication that to accommodate these scenes just about every one of the Motown memorable chart-toppers included has been trimmed. Putting aside the fact that for this reviewer the absence of The Supremes's "Baby Love" with its heart-stopping mid-way modulation is a major disappointment, Motown die-hards are likely to find the abbreviations frustrating.

At one point in Gordy's recollections, he fixes on the first Motortown Revue sent around the country and the potential trouble it encountered in the South when white and black fans mingled. While it's unfolding, an observer can't be blamed for thinking that maybe Motown: The Musical would have been best off not as part reality-show Dreamgirls but as a straight-out Motortown Revue 2013, which it almost is anyway.

A closing word on Emilio Sosa's costumes: He's done his research, but it doesn't look as if he's gone about reconstructing the vast Motown wardrobe. As an actual witness, I can report that the gossamer gowns worn by Diana Rose, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard at their 1965 Copacabana opening were different from what LeKae, DeBose and and Dionne Figgis as Florence Ballard gyrate in for the Motown: The Musical reprise. Needless to say, this isn't criticism. It's a devoted fan's cherished memory.

[luke]

I think theres excitement because its the music we love. I do wish a professional writer had been hired. And I have tickets for June!!

[thomas96]

bad book, 56 song snippets?! i will listen to full length motown hits the comfort of my own home. ain't nothin' like the real thing! this is exactly what i expected. i am surprised so many people here are excited by gordy's ego project.

I completely agree. I just saw Smokey out in FL, though I could've gone to the musical and paid lots of $ to stay in NY and see it. Much happier that I saw Smoke. I'll probably see it at some point, but my expectations are very low for it.

[kenneth]

From the review above:

Motown: The Musical is framed by NBC's 1983 25th birthday celebration, which brought together many, of not all, of the labels' acts. There's one significant participant missing at the festivities, and it isn't Tammi Terrell, who goes unmentioned throughout the hyperkinetic proceedings. It's Gordy himself. He's initially revealed at home, nursing hurt feelings about having been abandoned for other labels by many of the discoveries who've reunited for the broadcast.

Wasn't he at that special? Isn't that the one where Diana Ross urged him to come on stage from the balcony and join everyone for the finale? Or am I thinking of a different special?

[reese]

From the review above:

Motown: The Musical is framed by NBC's 1983 25th birthday celebration, which brought together many, of not all, of the labels' acts. There's one significant participant missing at the festivities, and it isn't Tammi Terrell, who goes unmentioned throughout the hyperkinetic proceedings. It's Gordy himself. He's initially revealed at home, nursing hurt feelings about having been abandoned for other labels by many of the discoveries who've reunited for the broadcast.

Wasn't he at that special? Isn't that the one where Diana Ross urged him to come on stage from the balcony and join everyone for the finale? Or am I thinking of a different special?

Berry was at MOTOWN 25.

The reviewer is referring to the fact that the musical begins with the MOTOWN 25 rehearsals, and Berry initially refusing to go to the show itself. It takes visits from Suzanne dePasse and Smokey before he finally agrees to attend.

[skooldem1]

Lets be honest here. There are some that have no intention of seeing this play- no matter what kind of reviews it received. Secretly they are happy to read some of the negative reviews. This musical is not for the critics. It is for the people and the people LOVE it.

[kenneth]

Berry was at MOTOWN 25.

The reviewer is referring to the fact that the musical begins with the MOTOWN 25 rehearsals, and Berry initially refusing to go to the show itself. It takes visits from Suzanne dePasse and Smokey before he finally agrees to attend.

I see. Thanks Reese.

[luke]

http://rewired.hollywoodreporter.com/review/motown-musical-theater-review-439314

[thisoldheart]

i didn't secretly want this musical to be bad ... it sounded ill conceived from the beginning, and the reviewers have consistently pointed this out. if it would have been more like the fats waller musical, with fewer but complete songs, or an accurate portrayal of motown's interesting history i would have had high hopes, and i bet the reviews would have been outta sight. i am amazed that real affectionatos [[sp?) such as we are at this site are so enthusiastic over this hopeless venture! to each, his own, i guess!

[Roberta75]

i didn't secretly want this musical to be bad ... it sounded ill conceived from the beginning, and the reviewers have consistently pointed this out. if it would have been more like the fats waller musical, with fewer but complete songs, or an accurate portrayal of motown's interesting history i would have had high hopes, and i bet the reviews would have been outta sight. i am amazed that real affectionatos [[sp?) such as we are at this site are so enthusiastic over this hopeless venture! to each, his own, i guess!

It's real simple IMO thisoldheart. If the Motown musical dont do anything for you dont buy a ticket. Thats all.

Best to you.

Roberta

[thisoldheart]

it don't! what does it do for those of you wanting to see it? that's my question.

[alexgarret]

All of a sudden, people seem to be acting polite and getting along and celebrating these two women and this story and then this debbie downer comes along? Bitter much?

[alexgarret]

And since you asked - it is spelled aficianados. Hopeless adventure? It's got the biggest advance sales of any show opening cold on broadway. Guess there are a lot of stupid people out there. Peace

[thisoldheart]

money has never equalled quality ...

[alexgarret]

So what? People are having fun, people are employed, NYC is winning!

[alexgarret]

And it is spelled "equaled". So much for quality.

[Roberta75]

it don't! what does it do for those of you wanting to see it? that's my question.

Maybe we just want to go out to see Motown the musical and have 3 hours of good times listening to music we love. Thats all its real plain and real simple.

Roberta

[alexgarret]

What Roberta said...

[jobeterob]

April 16, 2013 at 1:00 am

Reviews are in: Weak praise for 'Motown: The Musical'

Songs, performers overwhelmingly good, but storyline lacks depth
By Detroit News wire services




Here is a roundup of critics across the country who reviewed "Motown: The Musical":

New York Times, Charles Isherwood

For all the richness of its gold-and-platinum-plated soundtrack, "Motown" would be a much more satisfying nostalgia trip if Mr. Gordy and his collaborators were more effective curators of both story and song, rather than trying to encompass the whole of the label's fabled history in two and a half hours. Irresistible as much of the music is, I often had the frustrating impression that I was being forced to listen to an LP being played at the dizzying, distorting speed of a 45.

Associated Press, Mark Kennedy

The 2½-hour show, about Motown Records under founder Berry Gordy, opened Sunday at The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre completely unbalanced: The songs are staggering, the book utterly flimsy.

Both are due to one man: Gordy, who clearly knows what makes an indelible hit song, but also has an inability to write objectively about that skill. As the book writer, Gordy comes across almost divine, a true visionary who literally changed the world and race relations but was eventually abandoned by the artists he made stars when they sought to cash in. There are parts of the show that even a North Korean dictator would find excessively flattering.

Charles Randolph-Wright proves a director with real skill, able to seamlessly juggle an insane amount of songs, dozens of scenes and harness some quite stunning performances, led by a go-for-it Brandon Victor Dixon as Gordy and Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross …

Variety, Marilyn Stasio

The Broadway faithful [[at least, the part that covers the Baby Boomer demographic ranging from "mature" to "doddering") will have its mantra ready when cooler heads point out that "Motown: the Musical" is a hot mess. Should anyone note that Berry Gordy's kissy-face tribute to himself has no shape, depth, thematic point or dramatic continuity, the proper response should be: "We don't care!" And why should any nostalgic music-hound care, when this jubilant jukebox musical comes loaded with great singers, tons of energy, and dozens of classic Motown roof-raisers?

Entertainment Weekly,Thom Geier

Brandon Victor Dixon is a charismatic Gordy, and Valisia LeKae nails the understated intensity of young Diana Ross. Raymond Luke Jr. [[alternating with Jibreel Mawry) proves a scene-stealer in roles as a young Berry, Stevie Wonder, and especially Michael Jackson.

In the ensemble, Saycon Sengbih stands out as a soulful Martha Reeves, while Eric LaJuan Summers brings a lurid, loose-limbed showmanship to figures like Jackie Wilson and Rick James. But as good as the cast is, none are quite able to shake the indelible aural memory of the original performers. It's mighty hard to live up to legends …

The real stars, though, are those tunes. If Broadway producers insist on producing jukebox musicals, there's no better jukebox to seek out than the classic Motown catalog. And while Gordy's script may be an awkward ball of confusion, to cite a late Temptations hit, you might not be able to help yourself [[sugar pie, honey bunch) from having a just good enough time.

The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney

Having registered four consecutive weeks of preview grosses north of $1 million and racked up a stellar $16 million advance, the evidence suggests this is a brand that may not require critical support.

The production appears to have been cast primarily with an eye toward vocal skills, and there's considerable pleasure to be had watching stand-ins for Motown stars tear through their hits.

Among the most memorably showcased numbers are Wilson's "Reet Petite," The Contours' "Do You Love Me," The Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," Diana Ross & the Supremes doing "Stop in the Name of Love" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and a terrific Jackson 5 medley led by Raymond Luke Jr., who brings down the house with his effortless charm as the young Michael Jackson.

[smark21]

IF one is looking for a searing expose of Motown or a musical with a strong and well written book, Motown the Musical is not for you. But if you go into the theater to watch talented performers perform a lot of great songs and remove your thinking cap, then I suspect you’ll get your money’s worth.

[144man]

And it is spelled "equaled". So much for quality.

"Equalled" is the correct spelling in Britain.

[luke]

I just read a two and a half star review and three star review. They rave about the performers and the music. And criticize the script. If this is what we are getting considering who owns the rights then Im accepting it and going to be enthralled by the performers and the music. I hope.

[kenneth]

And it is spelled "equaled". So much for quality.

Geez [[Jeez?)...even if the spelling was wrong do we have to critique each other's spelling and grammar? Come on guy.

[Methuselah2]

WALL STREET JOURNAL
-- Terry Teachout, 4/15/2013

Motown: The Musical at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Berry Gordy, the Oz of Motown Records, has now given us an autobiographical jukebox musical called, naturally enough, "Motown: The Musical." It's a vanity production in all senses of the word, since Mr. Gordy wrote the book himself. The results should have been called "The Genius of Me: How I Singlehandedly Transformed American Culture, Made a Gazillion Dollars and Slept With Diana Ross." If you're willing to sit through two hours and 45 minutes' worth of unbridled self-love, you'll get to see a stageful of actors pretending to be Mr. Gordy, Ms. Ross, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and other such folk. The songs are great, the performances predictably predictable, the sets stupefyingly expensive. All this might possibly have added up to a just-about-tolerable show, but everybody in "Motown" insists on talking—a lot—and every single word that comes out of their mouths is fatuous beyond belief. [[Sample line: "Doesn't matter who owns the company. You built a legacy of love!")
So you've been longing to see a cruiseship-worthy musical that makes "Jersey Boys" look intellectual? Get in line.

[warehserat2911]

If you want to hear the truth about how BG started Motown and the actual facts, then go read a book. If you want to be entertained, then rush and get your tickets for "Motown the Musical". I've seen the show, loved it and plan to see it again. Brandon Victor Dixon and Valisia LeKae were amazing as Berry and Diana and at those prices, three hours is more than your money's worth.

[milven]

If you want to hear the truth about how BG started Motown and the actual facts, then go read a book. If you want to be entertained, then rush and get your tickets for "Motown the Musical". I've seen the show, loved it and plan to see it again. ...

Me too ;) But now good seats are kinda hard to get :[[