Illustration by Kennth Fallin
Stories of stars and groups have become the Broadway
craze since the Jersey Boys. Stories of
their lives of both ups and downs are combined with what you would construe as
a concert performed by actors rather than the artists themselves. Ain’t Too Proud is the latest to hit the
Broadway stage that follows the history of the Motown Group known as the
Temptations that turned out to be and audience catcher.
Lights up on a stage with five men dressed in fly
suits and smooth moves as the Temptations sing “The Way You Do the Things You
Do,” the first hit on the charts. It’s
here that we have Eddie Kendricks (Jeremy Pope), as lead voice, David Ruffin
(Ephraim Sykes), Paul Williams (James Harkness), Melvin Franklin (Jawan M.
Jackson) and Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin) the men who built The Temptations.
It is not mistakable that Melvin is the bass singer. Otis begins the “story” growing up in Detroit
and they sing, “Runaway Child Running Wild.”
Let me first say that I grew up hearing the songs as
I practically Velcro-ed the transistor radio to my ear and uttered every
lyric. I was able to remember which
groups sang which songs but that faded away after many years. Unless it was a group that had a name like
Diana Ross and the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips or Smokey Robinson and
the Miracles, I wouldn’t be able to tell you the names of any other members.
Did I care about any performer’s personal life?
Never. It was all about entertaining me.
Before I give you a rundown on the show itself, I
want to share my critique. I saw the
show on a Wednesday afternoon and there wasn’t an open seat unless I missed the
ones up in the rafters. Talent was on
the spot in regards to the songs, dance movements and acting. Having never seen an actual performance of
The Temptations, I cannot give a critique as to whether each of the parts that
the actors played was spot on with the portrayals. One thing for sure was that
the audience was more than reveling in the spectacle.
A few times when “Diana Ross and the Supremes” made
the scene, the leading woman did sound and sing like her….as in the songs, “Baby
Love,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Come See About Me.” However, only a portion of these songs are
sung. Huge kudos and much applause to Candice Marie Woods on sounding and somewhat
looking like Ross.
Sets were not a biggy, nor did they really need to
be for this show. They did have moving
images in the rear to help portray actors running, etc and where they were at
the time. There was a stage mechanics
that made it appear as though the group was in a bus and driving and although
there was no helicopter, they did have the back of a red sedan make its way on
the stage.
Back to the story as they become a part of Motown
and meet Berry Gordy (Jahi Kearse) and Smokey Robinson (Christian Thompson). As
the show continues you take in the group’s ups and downs with who gets fired,
who dies, etc. I felt that the story
line was really made for the younger generation that did not grow up hearing
this group as well as getting a better sense of why the songs emerged.
As for all of the songs in Ain’t Too Proud, here
they are keeping in mind that some were sung by groups other than The
Temptations. “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”
“Baby Love” “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)” “Cloud Nine”
“Come See About Me” “Don’t Look Back” “For Once in My Life” “Get Ready”
“Gloria” “I Can’t Get Next to You” “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving
You)” “(I Know) I’m Losing You” “I Want a Love I Can See” “I Wish it Would
Rain” “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You” “If You Don’t Know Me By
Now” “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” “My Girl” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” “Runaway
Child Running Wild” “Shout” “Since I Lost My Baby” “Speedo” “Superstar (I
Remember How You Got Where You Are)” “The Way You Do the Things You Do” “War”
“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” “You Can’t Hurry Love” “You’re My
Everything”
My biggest disappointment at this performance was
not with the cast but the audience. I
realize that it was the Isley Brothers who made “Shout” a hit, but it was a
feature in the show as sung by The Temptations. Nobody rose for the occasion, I
didn’t see hands raising up or anyone yelling, “shout” loudly or softly even
when it was encouraged. This particular
song become so popular that whenever or wherever you heard it being sung, you
just automatically got ready to participate as if it was a Rabbi telling the
congregation to stand for a prayer that indicated when what the participants
were expected to recite.
Final number is “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”
that goes into the closing number, “I Can’t Get Next to You” that has the
entire cast of Temptations, past and present, as well as all of the men and
women. When it comes down to it, Ain’t Too Proud: the life and times of The
Temptations is worth experiencing as it will certainly leave you with a feeling
of great sound, talent and energy.
Ken Fallin illustration: L to R: Derrick Baskin, Ephraim Sykes, Jeremy Pope,
Jawan M. Jackson, and James Harkness
