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  1. #51
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    They are opening the show so it can be a contender for awards. No time for a lot of major changes like adding more characters. So some think it has no book, but a good cast and music. Black and Blue won a best musical Tony and it didn't have a book/story, but a talented cast that made it work. Sounds like Motown has similar prospects.
    Last edited by Kamasu_Jr; 03-16-2013 at 08:18 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by no_place_like_motown View Post
    >With Marvin being one of the main characters, I'm a bit surprised that Tammi Terrell's is not one of the ensemble players. If I'm not mistaken I thought I saw a clip of Berry & Diana's character singing ANMHE, or another one of M&T's songs, in connection w/ Berry & Diana's romance.
    The clip you saw was Berry and Diana singing YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY. It was used to move the book forward about their romance. No Marvin duets with Kim or Mary or Tammi were mentioned in the book. There was a short version of STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW with The Supremes behind him singing backup.

    Quote Originally Posted by no_place_like_motown View Post
    >No Gladys Knight & The PIps? Ouch! LOL I wanna see someone sing their version of IHITTG or If I Were Your Woman or Neither One Of Us -- anything they sang. I don't recall seeing Edwin Starr, David Ruffin or Jimmy Ruffin mentioned either. That being said, I'm hoping that since they are still in the preview stages that more legendary Motown artists will be casted.
    I was kinda sad not to see GK&P represented too. But I'll be seeing the real thing next month. No Jimmy Ruffin, but David was represented. His ensemble player also played Lamont Dozier and a Jackson 5 [[I was sitting up front. Those J-5 teenagers looked kinda old )

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kamasu_Jr View Post
    They are opening the show so it can be a contender for awards. No time for a lot of major changes like adding more characters. So some think it has no book, but a good cast and music. Black and Blue won a best musical Tony and it didn't have a book/story, but a talented cast that made it work. Sounds like Motown has similar prospects.
    It has a book. I think the book should be tweaked and get rid of some unnecessary parts like the Doris Day and Tony Bennett parts of the book. They are just there to feed Berry's ego and are not needed to move the story of Motown forward. The have to take about twenty minutes out of the show. Taking Doris Day and Tony Bennett out is a beginning.

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kamasu_Jr View Post
    They are opening the show so it can be a contender for awards. No time for a lot of major changes like adding more characters. So some think it has no book, but a good cast and music. Black and Blue won a best musical Tony and it didn't have a book/story, but a talented cast that made it work. Sounds like Motown has similar prospects.
    Thank you for the information. You are the best and I have always thought so. Thank you again.

    Penny

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    its a story...not a documentary...why is everybody moaning that he or she wasn't mentioned..we are on this board because of our love of a certain genre of music MOTOWN...why cant we just let the man who created our music have his last crowning moment and celebrate it with him.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    The clip you saw was Berry and Diana singing YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY. It was used to move the book forward about their romance. No Marvin duets with Kim or Mary or Tammi were mentioned in the book. There was a short version of STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW with The Supremes behind him singing backup.

    I was kinda sad not to see GK&P represented too. But I'll be seeing the real thing next month. No Jimmy Ruffin, but David was represented. His ensemble player also played Lamont Dozier and a Jackson 5 [[I was sitting up front. Those J-5 teenagers looked kinda old )
    Thanks for your reply, Milven. I also have tickets for next month and I intend to have a blast!

  7. #57
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    Tony nominations always help ticket sales. It appears that Motown, the musical might snag a few. It also depends on the competition. Maybe Milven or some of our New YOrk members can size up the competition. What else is on Broadway? Thank you Penny.

  8. #58
    smark21 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Kamasu_Jr View Post
    Tony nominations always help ticket sales. It appears that Motown, the musical might snag a few. It also depends on the competition. Maybe Milven or some of our New YOrk members can size up the competition. What else is on Broadway? Thank you Penny.
    I’m not a big musical theater buff, but the musical that’s getting a lot of buzz this spring on Broadway is “Matilda”, a West End import currently in previews and which won a lot of awards and acclaim in London last season.

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    Some of the competition will be HANDS ON A HARD BODY, which opens next week, CINDERELLA, which got some good reviews, KINKY BOOTS, with music by Cindi Lauper. It opens next month and MATILDA.

    Another Motown Musical coming to Broadway is a revival of PIPPIN, but it will only be eligible for Best Revival, not Best Musical.

  10. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by mowsville View Post
    its a story...not a documentary...why is everybody moaning that he or she wasn't mentioned..we are on this board because of our love of a certain genre of music MOTOWN...why cant we just let the man who created our music have his last crowning moment and celebrate it with him.
    I said the same thing in another thread. I'd love to see a documentary about Motown on PBS, but this is a musical. Motown was blessed with a lot of talented acts. They can't all be featured in a musical and still have room for the book and music. As it is the show is ending after 11 p.m.

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by supremester View Post
    I don't think there was pretense that JMC never existed. What in Motown 25 would you cut to add the JMC segment? There is only so much time. Martha & Mary Wells both outsold JMC and barely got mentioned. The Marvelettes outsold JMC and weren't included at all. They had to draw the line somewhere.
    In the video montage. You had the Supremes performance clips, ending with the Sullivan in the gold dresses. THEN you had a still photo montage, all of Diana in solo shots. ONE of those still pictures could have been of Jean, Mary, and Cindy. I didn't ask for a SEGMENT, I ask for the woman's face to be flashed on the screen for TWO SECONDS.

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by revvy View Post
    Hey everyone!

    I saw the show last night and I thought it was GREAT! I was very pleased with the production and the cast was phenomenal. Most of what has been reported here is accurate. The show is indeed 3 hours long [[but that didn't bother me in the least!). The time just raced by...and so did the show. I sat first row center balcony so my view was the best in the house. I loved the giant Motown "M" on the main curtain as the audience took their places.

    I will say most elements of the production are a cross between "Jersey Boys" and "Baby It's You". The War [[What Is It Good For?) segment was very reminiscent of "Hair". Brandon Victor Dixon [[Berry) is a fine actor and had some great singing moments. Valisia LeKae [[Diana) was fantastic and certainly got the early Diana "sound" down very well. Charl Brown [[Smokey) was outstanding. If I closed my eyes, I would have sworn it was Smokey singing. Once again, however, it was little Michael Jackson who was the crowd pleaser. Tonight the actor was Raymond Luke, Jr. and he was sensational. He also played Little Stevie Wonder. He isn't the understudy. There are 2 actors who "share" the role, much like in "Billy Elliot". The actors playing Marvin Gaye and older Stevie Wonder were very good as well. The Tempts had a great blend and the Four Tops and Mary Wells were also well-represented.

    Because this was only the 3rd night of previews, there are some elements to revise and even cut as would be expected. As stated by another poster, the Doris Day and Tony Bennett elements need to be eliminated. The reference to HDH needs to be better explained. The actors never stated that HDH stands for Holland Dozier Holland and that they were the writers of all the great Motown hits. The "Tears of a Clown" segment needs to go unfortunately. Charl sings the song spot-on, but the choreography of the dancers and the "puppet without a string with the stupid doll smile" was unnecessary. I would guess the choreographer was given creative freedom with this number, but it just didn't work. The Diana solo segment was very good. I thought her enticing of the audience to "Reach Out and Touch", join hands and sway to the music was a nice touch, however plucking a woman from the audience to sing with her was embarrassingly awkward. Had it been a plant, it would have gone over much better, but taking a TERRIFIED patron who doesn't even know the words to the song [[as in the case last night) was uncomfortable.

    The costumes and choreography strangely enough were not exact replicas of the originals. They were very close, however. I wonder if there is a legal reason for that. A true Motown fan would notice the closeness in representation to the Supremes halter tops of the Diana, Mary, Cindy period. The Jackson 5 costumes were practically identical. I had to say I was a bit disappointed that the Tempts "My Girl" and Contours "Do You Love Me?" choreography wasn't exactly like the original. I'm sure there were copyright issues involved.

    The beauty of the show is how the music was so reflective of what was going on in society at the time. It was great to reminisce of what life used to be...the good, bad and the ugly. It was a bit disappointing to see teenagers and young adults in the audience wearing sweats and sloppy clothes. Most adults were smartly dressed and respectful.

    I could go on and on with more detail, but you all get the drift. I gave the show 8 out of 10. My date gave it 7 out of 10. It was a great night of entertainment and I'm sure it will be even more polished in a few months time. The show is definitely a hit and will run for a good amount of time if tweaked properly.

    As a Detroiter, I was proud to be there and to represent the talent that came out of her. Long may she wave. Enjoy the show!
    No, Revvy... there must have been other reasons for the changes in costuming and choreogaphy... you cannot copyright a dance move or a dress design.

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    In the video montage. You had the Supremes performance clips, ending with the Sullivan in the gold dresses. THEN you had a still photo montage, all of Diana in solo shots. ONE of those still pictures could have been of Jean, Mary, and Cindy. I didn't ask for a SEGMENT, I ask for the woman's face to be flashed on the screen for TWO SECONDS.
    The producers and certain people want to pretend that Jean Terrell never made an impact when she was probably the greatest female vocalist technically Motown ever had.

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by alexgarret View Post
    I think she is keeping a low profile because it would overshadow the show. She certainly won't attend the Motown Alumni performance because it would take away the focus from the others. Nothing sinister here...
    Nope. Nope, and NOPE. In a play about her where she is portrayed as being "Molded" by a man, and basically bringing nothing to the table of star caliber, you think she wouldn't be insulted by that? She's not one to bump her gums when she's pissed, she clams up. And well... that's what happening. I don't blame her, I really don't. Would you be all excited if you were Diana, and had a broadway show about your life, portraying you as a ghetto version of "My Fair Lady"? Like you had no class or no real superstar talent until you met Berry Gordy? And he taught you everything you know, and made you into who you are? I wouldn't be pleased, either.
    Last edited by jillfoster; 03-16-2013 at 09:54 PM.

  15. #65
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    Guess I don't know the inner workings of Diana's mind like you do. "Ghetto Version?" Hmm

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    Quote Originally Posted by alexgarret View Post
    Guess I don't know the inner workings of Diana's mind like you do. "Ghetto Version?" Hmm
    You don't have to know the inner workings of her mind. Any strong, independent woman such as her would be insulted by that portrayal [[I doubt we'll see Gloria Steinem in the audience for this anytime soon). I don't know why her fans are just happy about this. Why? Because on the surface, she's the star of the show and she's not shown as a mean bitch? Is that all it takes to please? Really? If she were all happy about this play, she would have said SOMETHING by now. And in response to another earlier post, I'm not surprised one BIT that Gladys Knight and the Pips are the only major group not in this... Gordy's ego wouldn't let him feature a group who promptly had the biggest hit of their career after leaving him. Michael was different, because he could take credit for "Discovering" him.
    Last edited by jillfoster; 03-17-2013 at 05:45 AM.

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    RE: she is portrayed as being "Molded" by a man, and basically bringing nothing to the table of star caliber ............
    ...to me it seems that the show is sticking quite close to the truth then.

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    The most impressive thing to me about Diana Ross is her willpower. Ever since I became aware of her when I was a pre teen in 1964 I can remember people taking cheap shots at her... Always some bull about her eyes, her weight, her voice, her attitude. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, ad fukin nauseum!!! From my perspective this has been constant. That's almost 50 years that i personally have bee hearing and reading rude comments about her. Almost half a farkin' century!!! But she has never stopped being who she is. That's impressive and inspirational to me.

    The countless TV appearances, Oscar nomination, Tony Award, Grammy, Kennedy Center Honor, sold out concerts are not nearly as impressive to me as the fact that she has managed to get over the incredibly huge *mountain* of insults and negativity that I have witnessed and she has always managed to continue to be Diana Ross. Methinks she deserves some kind of award for surviving it. "Ain't No *Mountain* High Enough" indeed!!

    My gut tells me that's the fighting "spirit" that Berry Gordy saw in her in the beginning. It takes an extremely strong person to withstand that type of constant bashing. If I have to crawl to Broadway i'm planning to help celebrate her and the rest of my Motown heroes with him. I thank them all for the music, the magic and most important to me, the inspiration.
    Last edited by LuvHangOva; 03-17-2013 at 10:45 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    Nope. Nope, and NOPE. In a play about her where she is portrayed as being "Molded" by a man, and basically bringing nothing to the table of star caliber, you think she wouldn't be insulted by that? She's not one to bump her gums when she's pissed, she clams up. And well... that's what happening. I don't blame her, I really don't. Would you be all excited if you were Diana, and had a broadway show about your life, portraying you as a ghetto version of "My Fair Lady"? Like you had no class or no real superstar talent until you met Berry Gordy? And he taught you everything you know, and made you into who you are? I wouldn't be pleased, either.

    Have you seen the show? From all people who have actually seen this show, I have yet to see them describe it in this way. What I think is going on is that non fans of Diana are so pressed that she is a main character in this musical that they are trying to put out there a false description of the play and her character. Again, no one that has seen this show has described it this way.

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    Have you seen the show? From all people who have actually seen this show, I have yet to see them describe it in this way. What I think is going on is that non fans of Diana are so pressed that she is a main character in this musical that they are trying to put out there a false description of the play and her character. Again, no one that has seen this show has described it this way.
    Of course, Diana's fans are seeing it that way, because they don't WANT to see the reality in front of them. They just see the dazzling costumes and the pretty music and don't delve any deeper than that, as to what the dialogue is really saying about her. So what's going on is exactly the opposite of what you are suggesting.

  21. #71
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    When did you see it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    When did you see it?
    I've seen a video a friend took from the audience. Even RHONDA HERSELF has said and I quote: "What I believe they are going for, is a different essence of what my mother was and is"..... she's candy coating it, but she is saying the same thing I am saying, you just don't want to accept it.
    Last edited by jillfoster; 03-17-2013 at 11:19 AM.

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    There is nothing for me to accept. You are making things up. You claim to know what everyone one thinks. This thread is for reviews and people who have actually seen it. Now miraculously you claim you have seen a video tape of it.
    Last edited by skooldem1; 03-17-2013 at 11:35 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jsmith View Post
    RE: she is portrayed as being "Molded" by a man, and basically bringing nothing to the table of star caliber ............
    ...to me it seems that the show is sticking quite close to the truth then.
    It is true. Berry Gordy made "Diana Ross" whether she or her fans like it or not!

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    Well then by that logic he also made Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Mary Wells, etc.
    Last edited by skooldem1; 03-17-2013 at 01:01 PM.

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    Diane says so herself.......HERE!

    http://www.people.com/people/archive...072719,00.html

    January 15, 1979
    Vol. 11
    No. 2

    Showbiz Wiz

    By Kristin McMurran

    Diana Ross, Star of the All-Black Remake of The Wizard of Oz, Frets over What Lies on the Other Side of the Rainbow

    From PEOPLE MagazineClick to enlarge


    "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
    —Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

    She is Glitter Chic incarnate, a flash of furs and facets and long cars. She sings, dances and, at $1 million a movie, is one of the three priciest actresses in the world [[the others: Streisand and Dunaway). President Carter asked her to entertain at his last birthday party, and publishing executive Jackie Onassis is pressing her to do an autobiography. But no Kansas-bred Dorothy, spun off to Oz by a whirlwind, could be as disoriented as Diana Ross today. It's not the money or the fame that makes the lady suddenly sing the blues. She's been used to all that since the '60s, when her Supremes outsold every other group except the Beatles. The problem, she confesses ruefully at 34, is "growing up. I had a very difficult year. I had another child, I just got divorced, I moved to Manhattan. It's the first time I've really been on my own," says Diana, "and it's not easy."

    Splitting from her husband of six years, Robert Silberstein, in 1977 was rough enough, but she also loosened a more ancient tie, the Gordy-an knot. Motown founder Berry Gordy, 49, took a street-corner songstress of 16 and, Svengali-like, fashioned her into the lady whom Diana's close pal Cher calls "one of the great performers of our time." "He did it all for me," Diana says of Gordy. "He was father, mother, brother, sister, lover." And she leaned heavily on the Motown machinery that has made her one of the most carefully protected celebrities anywhere. She followed the company from Detroit to L.A., let it make her decisions and was once Gordy's lady. Even during her marriage she reportedly took him on family skiing vacations.

    "My wife belongs to that company," a bitter Silberstein said before their divorce. "She's totally dominated by a man who never read a book in his life. I just can't stand it anymore to hear them calling Stevie Wonder a genius. What happened to Freud?"

    "I wanted it that way," says Ross. "It was safe." But after 18 years of non-self-actualization, est disciple Diana has put a coast between herself and Gordy, though Motown still produces her records and movies. "I've wanted this freedom of space for so long," she states. "I feel like Dorothy. Suddenly, BOOM, I'm in a whole new world."

    It started with a phone call to Gordy at 4:30 a.m. She'd just heard that Motown was producing the film version of The Wiz, a "magical, strange and wonderful" musical she'd admired on the stage, and she wanted to be Dorothy. "Berry grunted and said, 'Have you been drinking?' " Diana recalls. And although he said she was too old for the role [[many critics have since agreed), she was firm. "It's ageless," Ross insists. "I thought it was right for my career." With the passage of two weeks and one director, she had won and was preparing to head for the New York location [[the Oz of the all-black adaptation).

    She bought a copy of The Annotated Oz and began to underline it in Day-Glo pink. Then she put her 12-room Beverly Hills fortress on the market and moved her yellow Rolls and three daughters [[Rhonda, 7, Tracee, 6, and Chudney, 3) to a co-op in Manhattan's Sherry Netherland. "I sat in my empty apartment and looked out at the cars and people," she remembers. "If I'd had time to think about it, it would have been very scary. Luckily, I was busy working."

    This was only her third movie, after having earned an Oscar nomination as Billie Holiday in 1972's Lady Sings the Blues and done the rag-trade saga Mahogany in 1975. By reputation, Diana is a relentless worker. In The Wiz she did all her own stunt work, suffering broken fingernails, a leg injury [[when clipped by the motorcycle of an Ozian monkey) and retina burns from gazing into the Wiz's spotlight eyes. "I'm in a daze when I perform," she shrugs. "I almost need somebody to hold me until I get back to my dressing room and reality."

    Her supporters on the set included Michael Jackson, 20, a protégé of Diana's ever since his family Five began. "She's so beautiful, inside and out," he gushes, "and she can talk about anything: jewelry, hairstyles, est." Then there was a new admirer, Wiz director Sidney Lumet, who declares that "watching Diana is like watching this supernova exploding—she's stunning." But, admirers aside, there's no romance in her life. Diana hasn't had a strong, steady pair of arms since the divorce. "I had a lovely marriage," she says. "When you find someone that you can enjoy a lot of the same pleasures with—even if it's sitting in front of the television late at night with a big sandwich—it's terrific. Those pleasures I miss."

    Her answer to the old Supremes' refrain Where Did Our Love Go?, she says, is that "everything seemed to be out of whack." But her friends theorize, and Diana concedes, that it was difficult for Silberstein to be Mr. Ross. "She is almost barricaded by her stardom," says Wiz writer Joel Schumacher. "A man has to make more money or be a wife." [[Silberstein, who's managed Chaka Khan and Ron Wood, has lately also moved to New York and visits the children often.)

    Diana now escapes with intimate dinners with director Lumet or boogying with proprietor Steve Rubell at Studio 54 [["lf I'm feeling really wild, I go there and dance till I am exhausted"). Once she attended a porn flick with fashionable haberdasher pal Danny Zarem. [[That was only after disguising herself in an eight-foot muffler which made her look like "a mummy in sunglasses," according to Zarem.) But those are escorts, not lovers. And her most frequent date these days is her current Motown manager, Shelly Berger. He helps her rehearse and plays blocks with the kids, but has a steady girlfriend himself. "Shelly and I are very comfortable together," she explains. "I might forget he's there and start to undress and—'Ah, excuse me!' " she giggles.

    She still dreams of getting married again—to someone "understanding of my work, but maybe not involved in showbiz"—but "my priority," she says, is the children. She gets up with them at 7 for the The Flintstones and breakfast before they go off to the same private school as the scions from the Houses of Redford, Sedaka and the like. Mom tries to be home when they return at 3. "I like to have dinner with them and then we relax and play together until bath time at 7:30. They love it when I'm alone and there's no housekeeper," she laughs. "We get junky and have popcorn and sit on the floor. I yell a lot, but I'm not strict. If I can give them quality attention when I'm with them, then when I'm not it seems to be okay."

    The girls, who have not yet seen The Wiz [[they recently caught Lady Sings the Blues and pronounced it too sad), share one of the three bedrooms. The other is a playroom. "We bump into each other all the time," Diana moans. "We're living out of a suitcase. If I can make it to tomorrow, it will be better."

    Though unsure about where she wants to settle ultimately, Diana spends weekends scouting for a home in Connecticut. "I can live anywhere my work is," she says. "But I keep imagining this piece of land and a nice warm house so I can invite my family for Christmas and have a big tree. My kids have never lived out in the country where they can have horses." They spent the past Christmas in Detroit with their grandmother Ernestine, once a domestic, who takes care of the children when Diana is on the concert circuit or playing Vegas.

    Ross won't have a lot of time to look for her house—or, as she adds, "to feel sorry for myself." She goes back into the studio to record her 16th solo album in February. After that she's planning a 20-city tour. Since The Wiz she's being courted to play the queen of the numbers racket in Tough Customers and the role of a star who falls in love with her bodyguard—à la Susan Ford and Patty Hearst—opposite Ryan O'Neal. "Everybody has some pain," she says. "And if I have a lot of pain you know what I'm going to do with it? Use it in a movie when I have to show pain."

    As for the book Jackie O wants her to write, Diana would be more interested in doing a fashion or beauty work or a coffee-table collection of photographs and favorite passages she keeps in a notebook [[her latest: Rudyard Kipling's If). "I don't really want to do a biography now unless they want a trilogy," Diana laughs. "I feel that I'm just beginning—I've been around a long time, but I think of myself as a baby in this business.

    "It's really quite nice to take the responsibility for my life," she continues, on what she hopes is Volume II. "If I make a mistake I don't have to get mad at anybody." But as she eases on down that road she remembers the wisdom of Oz: "I just want to have the brains to decide what is best for me, the courage to follow through with that decision, and I want to have the heart so I can understand and love all of it—whatever happens." Then Diana Ross adds: "Home is like Glinda the Good Witch said at the end of the film—it's knowing yourself."

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    I wanted to take a picture of something I saw on stage, but unlike concerts, Broadway Theatre is very strict about cameras and video. I wonder how someone was able to record the entire show.

    The play doesn't show Diana as Berry's puppet. In fact, she was pushy in getting what she wanted for her group and herself.

    Marv's article from PEOPLE posted above shows that she was demanding in real life too.

    It started with a phone call to Gordy at 4:30 a.m. She'd just heard that Motown was producing the film version of The Wiz, a "magical, strange and wonderful" musical she'd admired on the stage, and she wanted to be Dorothy. "Berry grunted and said, 'Have you been drinking?' " Diana recalls. And although he said she was too old for the role [[many critics have since agreed), she was firm. "It's ageless," Ross insists. "I thought it was right for my career." With the passage of two weeks and one director, she had won and was preparing to head for the New York location [[the Oz of the all-black adaptation).



    Too bad she won that argument. In my opinion, Berry was right.

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    Why post that long article about the Wiz when this is suppose to be the "Official Motown Musical" thread?

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    Berry Gordy or no one else "made" any of those Motown acts of the 60's.If they didn't have talent & drive they would have never made it through the front door of 2648 W Grand Blvd.Mr. Gordy gave them the opportunity to fine tune their craft with great writers, producers, muscians ect. Mrs. Powell didn't come on board until late '64.Motown did the fine tuning but the artists had the natural talent & charisma.

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    Thanks Milven. I trust what you say about the musical because you have actually seen it. Unlike those that haven't seen it but are projecting their own feelings about Ross and trying to convince others that is how the character is perceived.
    Last edited by skooldem1; 03-17-2013 at 01:00 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    I wanted to take a picture of something I saw on stage, but unlike concerts, Broadway Theatre is very strict about cameras and video. I wonder how someone was able to record the entire show.

    The play doesn't show Diana as Berry's puppet. In fact, she was pushy in getting what she wanted for her group and herself.

    Marv's article from PEOPLE posted above shows that she was demanding in real life too.

    It started with a phone call to Gordy at 4:30 a.m. She'd just heard that Motown was producing the film version of The Wiz, a "magical, strange and wonderful" musical she'd admired on the stage, and she wanted to be Dorothy. "Berry grunted and said, 'Have you been drinking?' " Diana recalls. And although he said she was too old for the role [[many critics have since agreed), she was firm. "It's ageless," Ross insists. "I thought it was right for my career." With the passage of two weeks and one director, she had won and was preparing to head for the New York location [[the Oz of the all-black adaptation).



    Too bad she won that argument. In my opinion, Berry was right.
    Berry grunted and asked her if she'd been drinking........how telling!

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    Quote Originally Posted by motony View Post
    Berry Gordy or no one else "made" any of those Motown acts of the 60's.If they didn't have talent & drive they would have never made it through the front door of 2648 W Grand Blvd.Mr. Gordy gave them the opportunity to fine tune their craft with great writers, producers, muscians ect. Mrs. Powell didn't come on board until late '64.Motown did the fine tuning but the artists had the natural talent & charisma.
    "Motown founder Berry Gordy, 49, took a street-corner songstress of 16 and, Svengali-like, fashioned her into the lady ...."

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    Thanks Milven. I trust what you say about the musical because you have actually seen it. Unlike those that haven't seen it but are projecting their own feelings about Ross and trying to convince others that is how the character is perceived.
    I never said she wasn't pushy about getting what she wanted. Yes, she was THAT.. and the play DOES show it, but it also shows that Gordy was the only one that could give it to her... that she wasn't good enough to pull it off without him. So, what's the deal... you don't believe Diana's own DAUGHTER when she says the essence of the person in the play is different from what her mother is?
    Last edited by jillfoster; 03-17-2013 at 01:18 PM.

  34. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    I never said she wasn't pushy about getting what she wanted. Yes, she was THAT.. and the play DOES show it, but it also shows that Gordy was the only one that could give it to her... that she wasn't good enough to pull it off without him. So, what's the deal... you don't believe Diana's own DAUGHTER when she says the essence of the person in the play is different from what her mother is?
    You see how many hits she's had since she left Berry! LOL!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    You see how many hits she's had since she left Berry! LOL!!!
    She's had hits. Did she have as many as at Motown? No. But she remained successful after leaving Motown as did Gladys Knight, the Spinners and the 4 Tops.

    Some artists did not have many, or any, hits after the left Motown, such as Tempts, Smokey, Mary Wells, Eddie Kendricks, and former members of The Supremes.

    But this has nothing to do with MOTOWN THE MUSICAL. Does anyone plan to see it?

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    Wow.

    On holidays in a hot place and I see we still have the regulars hoping the Musical flops.

    You guys have been fans too long and you take this all way too seriously.

    Be glad this is going to put a few bucks in a few pockets of the people that need it. And maybe if it is huge, Berry will drop a few dollars into Mirage's long lamented museum. Mary Wilson might be a few more bookings and avoid some of the seniors places. And Diane can spread more move from on high, with Berry at her side.

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    "He did it all for me," Diana says of Gordy. "He was father, mother, brother, sister, lover." And she leaned heavily on the Motown machinery that has made her one of the most carefully protected celebrities anywhere. She followed the company from Detroit to L.A., let it make her decisions and was once Gordy's lady. Even during her marriage she reportedly took him on family skiing vacations.
    ahem..........hehehehehehehe!

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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    I've seen a video a friend took from the audience.
    That's a real tall tale jillfoster and on the sabbath as well. You ought to be ashamed for making up stories young man. Everybody know you cant record a show in a Broadway theater because the ushers watch for that all through the show and your friend would be ejected from the theater in 5 seconds flat.

    You did make me chuckle though expecting us to believe that you saw a video. LOL

    Thanks for the laughs.

    Roberta

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    Now miraculously you claim you have seen a video tape of it.
    LOL skooldem1. He quite the comedian. LOL

    Roberta

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    That's a real tall tale jillfoster and on the sabbath as well. You ought to be ashamed for making up stories young man. Everybody know you cant record a show in a Broadway theater because the ushers watch for that all through the show and your friend would be ejected from the theater in 5 seconds flat.

    You did make me chuckle though expecting us to believe that you saw a video. LOL

    Thanks for the laughs.

    Roberta
    You must be kidding! People sell videotapes of Broadway performances and concerts on the streets of New York City! This is nothing new, they have been doing it for years. So what are you talking about?

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    It is true. Berry Gordy made "Diana Ross" whether she or her fans like it or not! ..........
    Diane says so herself.......HERE!
    "Motown founder Berry Gordy, 49, took a street-corner songstress of 16 and, Svengali-like, fashioned her into the lady ...."
    Diana Ross didn't say that. Kristin McMurrin,the author of the article said that.



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    [QUOTE=marv2;154215]"He did it all for me," Diana says of Gordy. "He was father, mother, brother, sister, lover."

    Notice Diana's use of 'for me' not 'to me'. She indicates that she played a co-operative part in the process. She could have rejected Bery's plan. Her free will was not taken away from her. In no way was she a puppet. She came to see that the special relationship that she had with Berry Gordy was beneficial not only to each other but to all those others who were part of the Motown family of artists.Many were able to pass through the doors that Berry was able to open for his family of performers, through much hard work and dedication , and especially the trails blazed by the Supremes.
    So many of those who were there in the early days speak in family terms, making mention that they too looked upon Berry like unto an adult relative who, despite the differences they may have encountered along the way, helped to guide them in their formative years or to help the already seasoned performers to expand their careers.
    Last edited by carole cucumber; 03-17-2013 at 05:15 PM.

  43. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    That's a real tall tale jillfoster and on the sabbath as well. You ought to be ashamed for making up stories young man. Everybody know you cant record a show in a Broadway theater because the ushers watch for that all through the show and your friend would be ejected from the theater in 5 seconds flat.

    You did make me chuckle though expecting us to believe that you saw a video. LOL

    Thanks for the laughs.

    Roberta
    Your'e assuming that my friend is a paying audience member. He is an employee. Don't assume, because you know what that means. So take your little bag of bitchcraft, and have a seat.
    Last edited by jillfoster; 03-17-2013 at 06:38 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    I've seen a video a friend took from the audience. Even RHONDA HERSELF has said and I quote: "What I believe they are going for, is a different essence of what my mother was and is"..... she's candy coating it, but she is saying the same thing I am saying, you just don't want to accept it.

    So now you have gone from "I've seen a video a friend took from the audience" to it now being an employee.

  45. #95
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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    Your'e assuming that my friend is a paying audience member. He is an employee. Don't assume, because you know what that means. So take your little bag of bitchcraft, and have a seat.
    LOL. I aint buying it mister. It just dont ring true. LOL

    Roberta

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    So now you have gone from "I've seen a video a friend took from the audience" to it now being an employee.
    Its real amusing just the same skooldem1. LOL

    Take heed of these words from the good book of Proverbs jillfoster

    "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight."

    Roberta

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    Quote Originally Posted by skooldem1 View Post
    So now you have gone from "I've seen a video a friend took from the audience" to it now being an employee.
    "From the audience" and opposed to "From the backstage area". If you must know the details he set up his camera in a stationary, out of the way location in the AUDIENCE AREA OF THE THEATER. Geez.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    Its real amusing just the same skooldem1. LOL

    Take heed of these words from the good book of Proverbs jillfoster

    "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight."

    Roberta
    You can plant YOUR lips right on my ass.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jillfoster View Post
    "From the audience" and opposed to "From the backstage area". If you must know the details he set up his camera in a stationary, out of the way location in the AUDIENCE AREA OF THE THEATER. Geez.
    Please stop it jillfoster. You are just digging youself in deeper and deeper honey. Next youll be telling us that the "friend" who shot the video was the personal assistant to Diane Ross or Mr Gordy. LOL

  50. #100
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    Please stop it jillfoster. You are just digging youself in deeper and deeper honey. Next youll be telling us that the "friend" who shot the video was the personal assistant to Diane Ross or Mr Gordy. LOL
    Of course not. He's just a lowly grip.

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