Motown the Musical a hit with most critics
- Published
The Jackson 5 are among the groups featured in Motown the Musical
Motown the Musical, which tells the story of the legendary US record label, has been proclaimed a hit by most critics.
Motown founder Berry Gordy, Supremes star Mary Wilson and singer Smokey Robinson all attended Tuesday's opening night in London.
The show, written by Gordy, arrives in the West End after a two-year run on Broadway and a US tour.
It features some 50 songs including Dancing In The Street and My Girl.
But while one critic suggested this could be "the ultimate jukebox musical", others found the script wanting.
Jordan Shaw as Stevie Wonder
Here is a round-up of reviews:
The Telegraph - Dominic Cavendish ****
"In its triumphant new West End incarnation, it gives a valuable leg-up to a mass of young, gifted and black British talent and puts such a spring in its audience's step, you may well see people dancing in the street along Shaftesbury Avenue...
"The show moves beyond being a welcome nostalgia fest and becomes an urgent rallying cry for us all to rediscover our Motown mojo."
The Stage - Mark Shenton ****
"Motown the Musical may just be the ultimate jukebox musical. Short of putting a physical jukebox on the stage and playing a succession of the records once minted by the famous Detroit-based record label that emerged in the 1950s and made a succession of black solo artists and singing groups into global superstars, musicals don't get more like a parade of wall-to-wall hits than this.
"The music is so thrillingly and beautifully rendered, this jukebox trip down memory lane just can't fail."
British Theatre.com Douglas Mayo *****
"Motown breaks free of the normal constraints of a jukebox musical. It is a joyous, exuberant celebration of life, of challenge and ultimately of success.
"I can't recall a time in recent memory when an audience sang and danced their way out of the theatre but they did for Motown."
Lucy St Louis as Diana Ross in Motown the Musical
TheatreCat - Libby Purves *****
"Cedric Neal is a wonderful Berry Gordy, always at the centre of things, showing the conflict of a creative spirit who turned midwife and mentor, and suffered the inevitable blowback when his big stars outgrew the label and left it in trouble. But there is no self-pity: just wry satisfaction in having 'led them along a path I didn't know was there'.
"Neal himself sings like a dream, as do all the vast ensemble who become successive groups in dizzying sequence."
The Times - Dominic Maxwell ***
"What's not to like? A hit on Broadway, this chronicle-cum-celebration of Tamla Motown arrives in the West End complete with faithful and dynamic re-creations of some of the greatest pieces of soul pop ever recorded."
Time Out - Andrzej Lukowski ***
"This jukebox musical has one of greatest set-lists ever… and one of the laziest scripts.
"The simple fact is that other jukebox musicals set in a similar era - Jersey Boys, Beautiful - do the storytelling thing a lot better. Motown has more hits and better hits than both those shows combined. But while Gordy can write music with soul, he doesn't seem to be able to do the same with his own story."
Whatsonstage.com - Michael Coveney **
"If you're going to the theatre for a party or a karaoke evening... you will be cheering all the way through and standing at the end.
"But you won't be seeing anything half as classy as Jersey Boys, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical or Sunny Afternoon, all of which modestly aspiring back-catalogue shows knitted songs and story with wit, propulsion and clarity."
The Guardian - Michael Billington **
"Given that Berry Gordy has written, co-produced and is the lead character in this imported American musical, it is clear that the ego has landed. But, eager as I am as the next person to learn more about the Motown mogul, I was disappointed at how little I discovered.
"The appeal of this all-too-typical modern musical lies in the capacity of the 50 numbers, many of them severely truncated, to unlock the memories of the baby-boomer generation."
Motown the Musical is booking at the Shaftesbury Theatre until 18 February 2017.
- Published8 March 2016
