You Know, You Simply Want to Shout!

The Real Housewives of Motown

Like so many audience members at the Press Opening, I grew up on the Motown Sound. A native of Detroit, the soundtrack of my youth and teenage years were the songs of the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Little Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops and The Temptations, among so many others. Hit tunes, like “Dancing in the Street,” “Stop in the Name of Love,” “My Girl,” “Tracks of My Tears,” and “Fingertips” kept me rocking and rolling, while they blasted out of the tiny speaker of my transistor radio. 

Now a new biographical Motown musical revue has opened at the Black Ensemble Theatre. The show is inspired by the popular 2006 scripted TV soap opera, “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” which documented (along with an added dose of fictional sensationalism) the picturesque lives of a group of upper class women living in Southern California. The success of the series led to Real Wives of New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C. and other colorful locales. There’s even a “Real Housewives of Dubai,” among the more than two dozen international versions of this show. The series has led to a host of spin-offs and parodies, as well.

Influenced by the popularity of these reality shows, Michelle Renee Bester has written and directed a biographical musical revue based upon the wives and lives of some of Motown’s biggest talents. Feeling that the voices of the strong, supportive women behind these male singers had either been drowned out or completely forgotten, Ms. Bester draws back the curtain to expose the truth. She cobbles together a series of dramatic scenes, peppered with lots of Motown hits, to give the audience a glimpse into what these Real Housewives had to deal with at home, while their talented husbands were away recording or off on tour.

Motown Records was a large, ever-growing family of incredibly talented, Detroit-based African-American musical artists. Founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., portrayed here with power and pizzazz by Dennis Dent (“Don’t Make Me Over,” “The Marvin Gaye Story”), the music mogul held a tight rein over his stable of performers who would help racially integrate popular music, starting in the 1950’s. One of his earliest discoveries was a young Smokey Robinson, who eventually sang with his group, The Miracles. While Berry Gordy’s Motown Sound was cultivated by dozens upon dozens of talented singers and musicians over the years, Ms. Bester’s world premiere musical wisely focuses on just a handful of those individuals.

Smokey Robinson (nicely portrayed by RJ Griffith), The Temptations, featuring the combined talents of Otis Williams (Trequon Tate), Paul Williams (Naphtali Curry) and Eddie Kendricks (Kentrell Dawson), and The Four Tops, led by Levi Stubbs (Nick Henderson) are the artists depicted in this production. But it’s their wives who are the real stars of this show. They’re portrayed by Britt Edwards (playing Claudette Rogers Robinson), Melanie McCullough (as Josephine Williams), De’Jah Perkins (representing Mary Agnes Williams) and Qiana McNary (characterizing Clineice Stubbs). Also appearing as various additional backup singers and Motown artists are Kendra Turner (as Mary Wells, and others) and Brandon Lewis.

The production sheds light on the predictable trauma and troubles of these musical artists and their families. While the show is entertaining, the highlight is definitely the musical numbers. More music and less talk would even elevate this show. The finale, costumed in glitz and glamor, is the zenith of the production. However, unlike most BET musicals, this production has problems with pacing and tempo. This isn’t, however, the fault of Adam Sherrod’s talented band, featuring keyboards, bass, guitar and drums, who keep the hit tunes hopping. But the choppiness of the long book scenes and moments of slow direction is where the show falters.

Evelyn Danner’s gorgeous costumes, crowned by Keith Ryan’s period-perfect wigs, bring sparkle to this production. Angie Weber Miller’s lovely set design, lit by Denise Karczewski, offers plenty of space for the dramatic scenes and each musical number. However, the decision to include G Max Maxin IV’s clever projections, framed inside five giant, period television sets, soon loses its novelty. The photos of the actual singers and locations is welcome and provides wonderful authenticity. But where the device falters, instead of the actresses appearing live onstage for their solo moments, they deliver their monologues as prerecorded televised films. The live group scenes that star the four housewives, while mostly foreseeable, are so much more engaging.

The show features shortened versions of some songs, such as “Money (That’s What I Really Want),” “Mickey’s Monkey,” “My Guy” and “Tears of a Clown,” and an extended medley of hits for the finale that includes “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got.” Other hits include “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and a few others. It’s the head-bopping, toe-tapping, hand-clapping music that brings audiences to this theatre and when this cast is performing them theatergoers will want to jump up and dance. You know, it’s what makes patrons simply want to “Shout!”   

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented May 20-July 9 by Black Ensemble Theatre at their Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark St., Chicago.

Tickets are available by calling the box office at 773-769-4451 or by going to www.blackensemble.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.