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Music of Motown
By John Benson
“Live it again” is the ubiquitous marketing campaign seen all over the Motown Museum in Detroit. The idea is there’s so much to relive with the fertile h’60s music that not only defined an era but helped a nation come together with one soul-pop hit after another.
It’s this same mindset of living it again that defines and fuels the Tony Award-nominated “Motown The Musical,” which details Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from a boxer to record industry mogul responsible for launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and dozens more.
The sing-along production, which features more than 40 classic hits, made its Broadway debut in April 2013. Now the musical makes its Northeast Ohio debut Friday and runs through Oct. 19 at the State Theatre.
For “Motown the Musical” Director Charles Randolph-Wright, the show was a dream project considering as a kid he knew every Motown song, every B-side and every songwriter.
“Berry Gordy was literally my idol growing up,” said Randolph-Wright, who has written, directed and produced for theater, film and television. “He was an image you didn’t see typically of this man of color who had his own company. He was the king. When I had my first meeting with him, I just thought I wanted to meet him. Then I realized I have to do this project because I understood every aspect of his journey.”
Randolph-Wright’s theater directing credits include the record-breaking musical “Sophisticated Ladies” (starring Maurice Hines) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Ruined at Arena Stage,” as well as the 75th anniversary international tour of “Porgy and Bess” and a national tour of “Guys and Dolls.”
However, there’s one other credit on Randolph-Wright’s resume that provided the director priceless perspective and keen insight into how to create a Broadway show about ’60s music. This is of course, “Dreamgirls,” in which he was a member of the original cast.
Naturally, “Motown the Musical” seems inextricably linked to “Dreamgirls,” but Randolph-Wright points out a major difference between the two productions.
“The first thing that Mr. Gordy said was he wanted to bring Motown to Broadway,” Randolph-Wright said. “That’s the difference in this show compared to ‘Dreamgirls,’ which is a Broadway version perhaps of Motown. Also, it was very clear to Gordy, something we understood early on, that this story is two stories at once.
“It’s his journey you’re following through the show, but at the same time you get to take your own journey. That’s what’s unusual about this compared to other shows. You go to a show, follow these characters and take that journey with them. Typically you don’t get to have room for your own journey. That’s something we discovered how to do.”
Just as Motown music provided the soundtrack to the Civil Rights movement, Randolph-Wright said the music is having the same effect in today’s world, which he feels is just as divisive and contentious as the ’60s.
That said, Randolph-Wright said he’s witnessed the continued power and inclusive nature of the musical genre. This is why he feels there’s a timelessness associated with “Motown The Musical.”
“Every night there are moments where I see an audience celebrating something together,” Randolph-Wright said. “Given that we’re so divided as a country right now, I feel that this music, this movement – because I consider Motown a movement – is so necessary.
“I think it’s imperative as a community we find a way to talk to each other and often the way that happens is by singing and dancing with each other. That’s when the communication can happen.”