Motown: The Musical Opening night attendees

[revvy]

Any speculation as to which Motown stars will be attending opening night? If I lived in NYC, I sure as hell would be hanging around the theater to do some star gazing. Any leaks as to where the after party will be?

[jobeterob]

There is a post around saying Aretha, Berry, Smokey, Gladys, and Diana......at least.

[longtimefan]

Thanks for starting a new post for this big event, Revvy. The question to me is will Mary attend! I hope so!!!

[no_place_like_motown]

Thanks for starting a new post for this big event, Revvy. The question to me is will Mary attend! I hope so!!!

Agreed! Mary did mention that she planned to attend the play when she was on Tavis Smiley's show a few months ago. It would be great if she attends on opening night.

[LuvHangOva]

I think "Ree Ree" has already been [[on her birthday?) but would be cool if she shows up again for the gala. I hope Diana is there although it will be interesting to see how they handle the logistics of her arrival and exit.

[jobeterob]

I think "Ree Ree" has already been [[on her birthday?) but would be cool if she shows up again for the gala. I hope Diana is there although it will be interesting to see how they handle the logistics of her arrival and exit.

This is what the article says:

In addition, the reviews are going to be swamped by upbeat media coverage of Sunday night’s opening. The guest list reads like the Songwriters Hall of Fame, albeit the ’60s and ’70s wings: Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Barry Manilow, David Geffen, Aretha Franklin and, that diva of divas herself — Ross, “The Boss.”

I wouldn't be surprised if there is no Diana Ross. If she shows, it will turn the entrance and exit into a gong show.

[luke]

The NY Post said yesterday Diana and Gladys planning to attend! Hmmm--where does that leave Mary? It also speculated about possible Supreme activity at the Tonys. Hmmmm.

[alexgarret]

It's probably going to be one of the most celebrated openings ever. I hope Diana attends, but my thought is that she won't because it would draw attention from others. But with Diana, who knows? It's going to be a fun night either way. Reviews will probably suck, but the public obviously loves it, so it's a hit.

[JL2648]

This Freep article primarily discusses the chances of the musical eventually coming to Detroit but does mention that Smokey, Diana and Stevie are expected at tonight's opener:

http://www.freep.com/article/2013041...ay-Gordy-Diana

Jeff

[alexgarret]

Diana is there...

[alexgarret]

Along with Smokey, Vanessa, Gladys, Sting, Jane Fonda so far

[theboyfromxtown]

Diana has been seen there already

[skooldem1]

People on twitter are saying that the crowd went wild when Diana showed up.

[alexgarret]

Mary is there also

[longtimefan]

I wonder if we will get a picture of Diana and Mary together? In all sincerity, I pray that they might find peace in their hearts at this season of their lives.

Even if they have a "quiet moment" that none of us ever learns about, they deserve to find joy and purpose in their friendship of long ago and of their mutual legacy.

As one poster on SDF often reminds us, "Let's stay positive."

[alexgarret]

They [[of course) arrived separately. Hopefully there will be pics of them together at after party. Both looked stunning.

[Methuselah2]

Photos:

http://www.freep.com/article/2013041...usical-opening

http://www.gettyimages.com.au/Search...=Entertainment

http://allgreentometopics.delawareon.../06escSacQx52t

[JL2648]

Detroit News coverage:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...text|FRONTPAGE

Jeff

[luke]

Wow Mary and Diana in same room!Great post longtimefan.

[skooldem1]

According to those in attendance, at the end of the show Diana, Gladys, Stevie, Smokey and Mary Wells [[I'm assuming they mean Mary Wilson) were all brought up on stage with the cast.

[thomas96]

Did Brian Holland not attend?

[marv2]

Mary Wilson was in the house!

[marv2]

...and so was Gladys!

[carole cucumber]

According to those in attendance, at the end of the show Diana, Gladys, Stevie, Smokey and Mary Wells [[I'm assuming they mean Mary Wilson) were all brought up on stage with the cast.

I'm hoping that is correct- that all 5 were together.
I've looked at 4 different twitters and each person lists the first 4 names as being brought on stage. Each of the 5 legends deserves to be onstage for his/her role in the Motown story.

[marv2]

and here are Gladys, Stevie, Mary, Diane and Berry onstage together.

[carole cucumber]

Thanks for posting that . It's good to see on this Sunday [[someday) they were together on stage.

[skooldem1]

How ironic that the last time Mary and Diana were on stage together was on Motown25 and here they are 30 years later in a scene recreating that moment.

[luke]

Wow. Thx Marv!!

[carole cucumber]

Too bad Cindy wasn't able to be there.

[marv2]

Wow. Thx Marv!!

\


You are most welcome!

[longtimefan]

I hope that the crowd and the fans who have followed Motown and The Supremes feel the importance of this moment, because time passes very quickly. It's the legacy that lives on. I pray this one brief moment in time is a first step in healing for Diana, Mary, and their fans since everything is temporary ... only love endures!

Additionally, I hope that these mature ladies can harken back to the 50's when they were girls and remember the deep value of their friendship and what they accomplished. I recently saw a high school American history book ... and The Supremes were in it!

"Funny how time changes ... Rearranges everything ... Time changes things, it's true."

[thanxal]

I NEVER thought I would see a photo of Diana and Mary anywhere near each other.
What a fantastic, wonderful, exciting photo.

[marv2]

Here is another great shot!

[luke]

Amen Amen!!

[luke]

Is my mind playing tricks on me again??

[carole cucumber]

[alexgarret]

So great to see these two great ladies on stage together. Hopefully tonight will end the petty cat fights between the two camps and recognize that both women have a place in history.

[carole cucumber]

[carole cucumber]

http://www.whosay.com/JaneFonda/photos/323391

[revvy]

WOW! Great to see Diana and Mary even somewhat in proximity to each other.

2 wishes:

1) a shot of them embracing
2) Cindy Birdsong

but hey...I'm taking this and with a smile on my face!

[franjoy56]

WOW! Great to see Diana and Mary even somewhat in proximity to each other.

2 wishes:

1) a shot of them embracing
2) Cindy Birdsong

but hey...I'm taking this and with a smile on my face!

I am just happpy to see these photos of the two original Supremes on the samee stage together paying homage to the man who started their careers. The Supremes healing has begun. Amen.

[jobeterob]

NEW YORK — Motown’s memory lane wound its way up the red carpet and into Broadway history Sunday night.

On an evening that testified to the enduring magic of the Detroit-born legacy, an A-list crowd that included Diana Ross, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Sting gathered for the opening of “Motown: The Musical,” as the show vies to become the next Broadway smash.

“This is exciting, huh?” Ross said as she greeted friends on her way into the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. By intermission, she was dabbing away tears and exchanging hugs with Motown founder and former flame Berry Gordy Jr. after watching their young lives together unfold onstage.

Sunday’s celebrity audience watched a feel-good show that’s brisk and vivacious, with dozens of whirling, twirling musical numbers to punctuate the tale of Motown Records at the hands of Gordy.

Gordy, who wrote and produced the musical, was a focal point out on the red carpet outside the Lunt-Fontanne, festooned in Motown gold. But on a night that drew figures from Jane Fonda to Red Foo to Kathie Lee Gifford, it was Ross who by far drew the biggest screams from the hundreds of fans gathered across 46th Street.

Her former Supremes compatriot Mary Wilson had made her way down the red carpet 20 minutes earlier, voicing her support for Gordy’s Broadway debut — “one of those things where dreams do come true.”

“There are a lot of different sides to a story,” said Wilson. “I’m glad Berry finally got a chance to tell his.”

Straight and safe, “Motown” probably won’t be transforming the dramatic arts. But the show’s three hours offer proud and poignant moments for anyone with an emotional investment in Motown and Detroit history.

“Magnifico,” Spike Lee said at intermission.

“So much fun,” said Sting. “You can’t fail with that music.”

For a Sunday audience that included many of the figures being portrayed onstage, it was often a deeply moving experience.

Motown producer-songwriter Eddie Holland got teary eyed while “reliving the emotions of the greatest experience of my life.”

“It depicts the spirit of the company, the struggles, the camaraderie,” he said. “It relived something that was almost unimaginable to have happened in the first place.”

Pegged as a hit

Three years after the label notched its 50th anniversary, the show is a test of the Motown brand — and a chance to refuel the label’s mythology in a grand new setting.

While critics’ reviews this week will set the show’s reputation in the theater world, consensus among Broadway watchers is that “Motown” is on track to be a hit. Producers and investors are banking millions that the show will become a long-running hit at the Lunt-Fontanne, just around the corner from Times Square.

The story opens at rehearsals for 1983’s “Motown 25” television special in L.A., as Gordy wrestles with the prospect of selling the company and “turning back on a dream.”

From there Detroit is the main setting as the musical flashes back to trace Gordy’s rise amid doubters and civil rights struggles, as Motown and its homegrown stars become the face of black crossover pop.

Much of the story’s drama derives from Gordy’s battles with the strong women in his life: his sister Esther Edwards, business partner Suzanne de Passe and — most important — Ross. Gordy’s mentorship and romance with the Supremes star becomes the show’s pivotal undercurrent.

Brandon Victor Dixon is solid as an approachable, sympathetic Gordy, while Valisia LeKae makes for a dynamic Ross, who grows from coy schoolgirl to powerful diva over the story’s 25-year timeline.

As you’d expect — and hope — the musical numbers are the big highlight, a rat-a-tat-tat run through 55 Motown hits. Sunday’s crowd had boisterous applause for ebullient ensemble numbers such as “Dancing in the Street” and the entrance of a boyhood Michael Jackson, played charmingly by young Raymond Luke Jr.

The show taps many of the best-known touchstones from Motown lore: The $800 Gordy family loan. The barrier-breaking Motortown Revues. The freewheeling quality-control meetings where records got green-lighted or nixed.

For many Detroiters, details such as the Flame Show Bar and disc jockey Tom Clay will prompt knowing nods.

While not every Motown act gets lengthy face time — the show whisks through folks such as the Marvelettes and Martha Reeves — some behind-the-scenes figures become prominent, colorful characters, including talent chief Mickey Stevenson, artist manager Shelley Berger and sales head Barney Ales.

The show might get picked over by Motown zealots on one front and theater purists on another: For the former, there may be too much Gordy; for the latter, too little story.

But with its uplifting energy and barrage of familiar tunes, “Motown” seems designed for a sweet spot that will appeal to tourists and everyday theatergoers craving a shot of nostalgic entertainment.

Show officials are already trumpeting big stats: Every performance sold out during the four-week preview run leading into Sunday night, tallying more than $1 million each week — a first for a show starting cold on Broadway.

Before the stars moved to the Roseland Ballroom for an after-party, a lengthy curtain call closed the show as one by one, Motown stars headed onto the stage to join the cast.

First was a grinning Gordy, followed by Ross, who made a beeline for actress LeKae and enveloped her in an adoring hug — perhaps the biggest endorsement a diva can dole out. It was their first meeting.

• Related: When will 'Motown: The Musical' come to Detroit?

• Related: Meet the cast of 'Motown: The Musical'

The crowd was soon joined by Smokey Robinson, then Stevie Wonder, then Mary Wilson — who pasted a kiss with her fingertips on Ross’s cheek.

Before the guests and cast sang out the night with “Dancing in the Street,” Gordy offered a final thought about his triumphant night:

“All I want to do is thank you for sharing my dream.”

[LuvHangOva]

Diana mingles briefly at the after party.....

http://www.freep.com/article/2013041...nt-for-Detroit

[Methuselah2]

Great shots, LHO. Thanks for posting. Especially nice to see Valerie Simpson there.

[Penny]

Thank you all for the pictures. I am speechless.

Penny

[honest man]

Goosebumps ,a wonderful moment in times,thanks for feelgood pics,cheers.

[captainjames]

AW !!!!!! SUCCESS !!!!
Not because it may or may not be a hit but because so many Motown family came out to Celebrate and embrace. I had not seen Gladys Knight in a while and my my my she looks GOOD !!!! There are lot more of the Motown family that were not caught on Camera.

[no_place_like_motown]

What wonderful photos! It's so exciting to see everyone together on that stage having a great time. All the Motown ladies looked stunning. Too bad there wasn't a shot of Mary pasting a kiss with her fingertips on Diana's cheek! Motown Forever!!

[Roberta75]

What great photos and what a night for Mr Gordy and Motown it warmed my heart. Does anybody know if the First lady of Motown Dr Martha Reeves was there last night? i sure hope so. Thank you to all who posted these great photos i am so happy for Mr Gordy.

Roberta

[JL2648]

AW !!!!!! SUCCESS !!!!
I had not seen Gladys Knight in a while and my my my she looks GOOD !!!! .

I fully agree about Gladys. From the photos I've seen from last night she stands out in terms of beauty and class.

Jeff