Euphoria comes over you when Diana Ross walks down the aisle, stands next to you and sings “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).” Not to mention you have the best seat in the house, right next to this phenomenon of a lady. Then she says what a great Las Vegas audience it is.
Joyously laughing while being entertained, you look again at Diana and realize you have been listening to actress Allison Semmes sing. You are caught up in the moment, enjoying the second act of “Motown the Musical” at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. The musical, produced by Berry Gordy and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, runs through Jan. 3.
The musical reveals a love affair between Motown and The Howard Theatre in Northwest D.C. At the height of the Motown Sound in the 1960s artists such as Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and the Vandellas regularly performed at The Howard Theatre, one of the earliest theaters for Blacks.
“Howard has meant so much to Motown from the early days,” Gordy told the {AFRO}. “It was a place we knew we could go where people understood us. And where people loved us, and people we loved. It was a great love affair between the Howard audiences and Motown.”
In the musical, D.C. native, Marvin Gaye, played by Jarron “Jae” Muse, wins the audience over as they sing along to some of Gaye’s greatest hits. Muse creates a theatrical space that honors Gaye, a Black man that changed our world with “What’s Going On.” Speaking of Gay, Gordy said. He “was one of the great geniuses of our time.”
The musical company boasts a cast of 35 members that have performed in more than 600 shows all over the country. The tour started in Chicago and returns to Broadway in July 2016.
“It’s like the Motortown Revue,” Randolph-Wright said. “’The Motortown Revue’ went all over the country. It’s very reminiscent of what did back in the day.” “The Motortown Revue” was a travelling show of Motown artists in the 1960s that played on the East Coast and in the South. Due to the prevailing segregation laws of the time, many times the show would be attended by Blacks one night and Whites the next.
Audiences can look forward to seeing versions of Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five, and Martha Reeves in this excellent musical production. The musical goes to London in Spring 2016.