USA - Director Charles Randolph Wright has secured himself as one of Broadway's best directors to date, thanks to the current smash new hit musical "Motown" now in previews. BroadwayGlobal has the exclusive look, sharing production highlights. "Motown" rocks Broadway! "Motown the musical" is now the number one top musical on Broadway." BroadwayGlobal.
Wright gets it right! The pressure must have been tremendous telling legendary Berry Gordy's life while using the iconic music form "Motown's" music catalogue. The record breaking hit songs were created by an army of Gordy groomed artists. Berry Gordy knew how to keep his talent mainstream, while pushing the envelope. "Motown" is the reason why black and whites came together "Dancing in the Street" all through the love of music, as easy as 1, 2 3, "ABC". The Choreography is slammin! Yes, SLAMMIN!' BroadwayGlobal.
So who better to tell the historic American Dream than Director Charles Randolph Wright. Charles has kept his vision somewhat mainstream for Broadway musicals across the country. Sadly there are only a handful of black directors at this level. Not because black directors don't exist or are not talented. If you look at the list of Broadway director names from season to season, the list of names starts to look like a high school popularity contest. You don't see many new names or up and coming directors getting Broadway directorial opportunities. The odds are even more upsetting if you are a black director. Thanks to Berry Gordy and "Motown" Charles Randolph Wright will be a Broadway household name for eternity.
Charles has been known for breaking box office records. "Motown" will be no different. It is sure to be one of the longest running Musicals in Broadway history. Put over sixty five "Motown" musical hits on stage with one of the best Broadway cast the globe has seen, now share the top Billboard charts telling the story of record producer Berry Gordy, add in Gordy's biggest stars Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Tempations, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson, just to name a few, and what you get is a musical with more top chart hits then any other Broadway musical ever conceived.
This is not some jukebox musical with electrifying choreography using "Motown" hit songs. "Motown" is the history of America. The "Motown" songs created were inspired from Martin Luther King's killing, President Kennedy murder, segregation of whites from blacks and even relationships between "Motown" legendary artists.
"Mr. Wrights "Motown" direction is seamless, pulsating, driving and infectious. An author, director, actor, choreographer Charles Randolph Wright is one of very few artists that gets every aspect of musical theatre and it shows in Broadway's biggest hit to date. "Motown" is the biggest smash hit musical in the history of Broadway. There will never be this many Billboard hits in one musical." BroadwayGloabl.
"Brandon Victor Dixon (Berry Gordy) is a talent that will go down in Broadway history, playing one of the most iconic roles ever on Broadway. Brandon's acting is superb, his voice even more enchanting and his performance breathtaking." Theatre Chat.
"Valisa LeKae (Diana Ross) is so on point vocally that you forget you are not looking at the real Diana Ross. LeKae worked the thetare audience like Diana Ross singing in Central Park. Her portrayal of Diana Ross is honest, loving and captivating." BroadwayGlobal.
Now it gets even harder to pick the best of the "Motown" cast, because every character is so dead on. The costumes, actors and choreography recreating The Jackson Five performance on The Ed Sullivan Show is now a Broadway moment that one will never forget. You live the fifties, sixties true life events as "Motown" songs are cleverly intertwined with the book musical recreating a historic American era. A scene of black and whites separated during a concert brought back just how close these years were in our life time. But "Motown" love songs were universal, an international language that brought the globe together.
Raymond Luke (Young Berry Gordy, Young Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson) gives and outstanding performance in multiple iconic roles. He sings gloriously, dances with the Jackson's flare and gets every character's unique characteristics.
Charl Brown (Smokey Robinson) plays the wonderful talented friend of Berry Gordy. Brown's voice is moving, his acting endearing and his journey in "Motown the Musical" a key thread. Many of the "Ensemble" stand out from the crowd including N'Kenge and Eric LaJuan Summers but all of the "Ensemble" play multiple roles making "Motown" an "Ensemble" dream team musical. "Motown" holds number one spot on Broadway!" Theatre Chat.
Please note the preview program has listings of characters that the ensemble play on a separate page from the bio's page, but like me, many people miss it. Once the production team of "Motown" freeze the show and roles, hopefully Actors' Equity will either deem many of the iconic roles principles or at least specialty roles, listing them in each artists bio, not just say Ensemble. Again this program is a preview program at this time. I even learned something from this information above.
Choreographers Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams have recreated the highlights from The Jackson Five, The Supremes and Berry Gordy's "Motown" era that made its mark in history. Now Broadway history is made as "Motown" rocks Broadway! The choreography is SLAMMIN! "Motown the Musical" is the Theatre Chat top pick.
The story of a little home turned into Hitsville, USA, a global recording studio inspired by Berry Gordy is one of the best musicals to rock Broadway. There will never be a musical with this many Billboard top hits, telling the story of the American dream. Berry Gordy is the American Dream, he created a journey for freedom through the music he produced. The opportunity for prosperity and success can be said by one name, Berry Gordy. "Motown the Musical" is the American Dream. "Motown the Musical" is the number one BroadwayGlobal top pick!
Congratulations to one of the best Broadway cast ever. "Motown" cast: Brandon Victor Dixon (Berry Gordy), Valisia LeKae (Diana Ross), Bryan Terrell Clark (Marvin Gaye), Timothy J. Alex (Ensemble), Michael Arnold (Ensemble), Nicholas Christopher (Ensemble), Rebecca E. Covington (Ensemble), Andrea Dora (Ensemble), Preston W. Digger III (Swing), Wilkie Ferguson (Ensemble, Partial Swing), Dionne Figgins (Swing, Assistant Dance Captain), Marva Hicks (Ensemble), Tiffany Janene Howard (Ensemble), Sasha Hutchings (Ensemble), Lauren Lim Jackson (Ensemble), Jawan M. Jackson (Ensemble), Morgan James (Ensemble), John Jellison (Ensemble), Crystal Joy ( Swing), Grasan Kingsberry (Ensemble), Jamie LaVerdiere (Swing), Jibreel Mawry (Young Berry Gordy, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder), Marielys Molina (Ensemble), Sydney Morton (Ensemble), Maurice Murphy (Ensemble), Jarran Muse (Swing), Jesse Nager (Ensemble), Milton Craig Nealy (Ensemble), N'Kenge (Ensemble), Dominic Nolfi (Ensemble), Saycon Sengbloh (Ensemble), Ryan Shaw ( Ensemble), Jamal Story (Ensemble, Dance Captain), Eric LaJunan Summers (Ensemble), Ephraim M Sykes (Ensemble), Julius Thomas III (Ensemble), Daniel J. Watts (Ensemble), Donald Webber, JR (Ensemble).
Production team: Berry Gordy (Book, Producer), Charles Randolf-Wright (Director), Patricia Wilcox (Choreographer), Warren Adams (Choreographer), David Korins (Scenic Design ), Esosa (Costume Design), Natasha Katz (Lighting Design), Peter Hylenski (Sound Design), Daniel Brodie (Production Design), Ethan Popp (Music), Bryan Crook (Orchestrations, Additional Arrangements), Zane Mark (Dance Music Arrangements), Joseph Joubert (Music Director), Michael Keller (Music Coordinator), Telsey + Company (Casting), Charles G. LaPointe (Hair and Wig Design), J. Jared Janas (Make Up Design), David Goldsmith (Script Consultant), David Benken (Technical Supervisor), Rod Lemmond (Associate Scenic Designer), Julia P. Jones (Production Stage Manager), Matthew Lacey (Stage Manger), Amber Dickerson (Assistant Stage Manager), Cody Renard Richard (Assistant Stage Manager), Walk Tall Girl Productions (Marketing Outreach), Bespoke Theatricials (General Management), Nina Lannan (Executive Producer), Kevin Mc Collum (Producer) and Doug Morris (Producer).
Where else can you find a concert with all of these iconic stars in one musical. "Motown" is Sensational! The not to be missed musical of the century! See it in previews, before the heads that be take out a second of this show stopping hit". BroadwayGlobal.
Compare "FELA" to "Motown" both musicals have a leader in our society that changed the globe with the use of music. Motown's Berry Gordy had an army of artists and "FELA" was the army with just himself as a leader in our global society. "Motown" may be number one on Broadway but don't forget "FELA" is the BroadwayGlobal "Top National Tour". The globe has a few musicals that have set their mark in Broadway history!
Special thanks to Sony/ATV Music Publishing. To purchase tickets to "Motown the Musical" visit: www.bit.ly/MotownTI or www.motownthemusical.com.
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