Ain’t Too Proud follows the journey of The Temptations from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. Through friendship and betrayal amid the civil unrest that tore America apart, their moving and personal story still resonates five decades later.
This project reunites some of the same creative team members from Jersey Boys such as director Des McAnuff, choreographer Sergio Trujillo, sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy, and lighting designer Howell Binkley. On paper, you might think that Ain’t Too Proud is basically the black clone to that show as it’s a biographical musical that charts the rise of a successful all-male music group told through narration. Luckily, this show isn’t a complete knockoff of Jersey Boys. Rather than having each member of the group give their perspectives of the story, only one member tells the whole story, which in this case would be the founder and last surviving original member of The Temptations, Otis Williams.
Book writer Dominique Morisseau dramatizes the story in a documentary style while apparently also having it told within the framework of a concert. The musical begins with The Temptations giving a concert at the Fox Theatre in the home of Motown music, Detroit. It is after the opening number, ‘The Way You Do the Things You Do’, when Otis begins telling the story of how it all began. Actor Derrick Baskin, who earned a Tony nomination for his performance earlier this year, makes for a very charismatic leading man, which is necessary in being the glue to keep the whole story together. However, at the performance I attended, we the audience got an announcement right before Act II began that Baskin’s understudy, Marcus Paul James, would be going on for the remainder of the show. I don’t know what exactly happened with Derrick Baskin during intermission, but Marcus certainly came to the rescue and gave his own charisma to the role of Otis Williams.
In fact, a couple other understudies went on for two of the other Temptations throughout the whole show, Corey West went on for James Harkness as Paul Williams and Elijah Ahmad Lewis went on for Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin. Though it does feel ironic given how many new members would go on to take over for the original Temptations over the years. After all, Paul Williams ended up departing the group from having fallen into depression due to stress from performing and personal issues while David Ruffin was fired due to his difficult behavior. With that being said, Corey and Elijah both did great work filling in. Also terrific are Jawan M. Jackson as bass singer Melvin Franklin, who provides a lot of the show’s comic relief, and Jelani Remy as Eddie Kendricks, who became detached from The Temptations following Ruffin’s departure. Not only do all five performers look and feel like the real Temptations, but they also work so well together.
Under the direction of Des McAnuff, he is able to keep things moving throughout the staging as tons of information flies by right at the seat of your pants. Meanwhile, Peter Nigrini provides some informative projections which gives important context to what is going on in the plot. The great Harold Wheeler has also breathed new life into these classic songs that are so energetically played by an onstage band. Credit must also be given Sergio Trujillo for creating some incredible choreography for a dance heavy show like this. In fact, I should also point out that when he won the Tony earlier this year just before the telecast began, he gave such an enthusiastic acceptance speech that you need to see.
Overall, Ain’t Too Proud is a great crowd-pleasing musical that tells the remarkable true story about The Temptations. Unlike Motown: The Musical which centered on a whole lot of the company’s history in a convoluted way, this show mainly focuses on one notable part of it. In a less is more fashion, this is able to provide a good amount of historical context to what happened during the era of the classic 5. Ain’t Too Proud is not only sure to be a hit on Broadway, but also a big hit on the road when the national tour begins next year.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.ainttooproudmusical.com/
This project reunites some of the same creative team members from Jersey Boys such as director Des McAnuff, choreographer Sergio Trujillo, sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy, and lighting designer Howell Binkley. On paper, you might think that Ain’t Too Proud is basically the black clone to that show as it’s a biographical musical that charts the rise of a successful all-male music group told through narration. Luckily, this show isn’t a complete knockoff of Jersey Boys. Rather than having each member of the group give their perspectives of the story, only one member tells the whole story, which in this case would be the founder and last surviving original member of The Temptations, Otis Williams.
Book writer Dominique Morisseau dramatizes the story in a documentary style while apparently also having it told within the framework of a concert. The musical begins with The Temptations giving a concert at the Fox Theatre in the home of Motown music, Detroit. It is after the opening number, ‘The Way You Do the Things You Do’, when Otis begins telling the story of how it all began. Actor Derrick Baskin, who earned a Tony nomination for his performance earlier this year, makes for a very charismatic leading man, which is necessary in being the glue to keep the whole story together. However, at the performance I attended, we the audience got an announcement right before Act II began that Baskin’s understudy, Marcus Paul James, would be going on for the remainder of the show. I don’t know what exactly happened with Derrick Baskin during intermission, but Marcus certainly came to the rescue and gave his own charisma to the role of Otis Williams.
In fact, a couple other understudies went on for two of the other Temptations throughout the whole show, Corey West went on for James Harkness as Paul Williams and Elijah Ahmad Lewis went on for Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin. Though it does feel ironic given how many new members would go on to take over for the original Temptations over the years. After all, Paul Williams ended up departing the group from having fallen into depression due to stress from performing and personal issues while David Ruffin was fired due to his difficult behavior. With that being said, Corey and Elijah both did great work filling in. Also terrific are Jawan M. Jackson as bass singer Melvin Franklin, who provides a lot of the show’s comic relief, and Jelani Remy as Eddie Kendricks, who became detached from The Temptations following Ruffin’s departure. Not only do all five performers look and feel like the real Temptations, but they also work so well together.
Under the direction of Des McAnuff, he is able to keep things moving throughout the staging as tons of information flies by right at the seat of your pants. Meanwhile, Peter Nigrini provides some informative projections which gives important context to what is going on in the plot. The great Harold Wheeler has also breathed new life into these classic songs that are so energetically played by an onstage band. Credit must also be given Sergio Trujillo for creating some incredible choreography for a dance heavy show like this. In fact, I should also point out that when he won the Tony earlier this year just before the telecast began, he gave such an enthusiastic acceptance speech that you need to see.
Overall, Ain’t Too Proud is a great crowd-pleasing musical that tells the remarkable true story about The Temptations. Unlike Motown: The Musical which centered on a whole lot of the company’s history in a convoluted way, this show mainly focuses on one notable part of it. In a less is more fashion, this is able to provide a good amount of historical context to what happened during the era of the classic 5. Ain’t Too Proud is not only sure to be a hit on Broadway, but also a big hit on the road when the national tour begins next year.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.ainttooproudmusical.com/