Isn't She Lovely - Motown the Musical

Few music corporations have become so popular as Motown. More than just a big company like Columbia or Capitol, Motown was a cultural institution that was beloved by millions of people in the 60's and 70's. Through their unique art of creativity, they developed incredible artists and appealed to all demographics. Although Motown is no longer independently owned, they were for a few decades the largest African American business and continue to have huge popularity. Formed in 1958, Motown founder Berry Gordy began accumulating artists and recording them in a small building in Detroit. Smokey Robinson soon joined him as a creative and performing artist and by 1962, they began churning out hits at a rapid pace. From the Supremes to the Temptations, the company sold millions of records and many singers like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye became household names. While the hits slowed in the 70's, the company was revitalized by groups such as the Jackson 5 and the Commodores. Gordy was forced to sell the company in the 90's but he remains an iconic businessman and inventor. Fast forward 20 years to 2013 and the Motown Musical debuted on Broadway. The jukebox musical received 4 Tony nominations and the large crowds proved that many people still wanted the music.

In many ways, this was my type of musical. A historical subject, great music, and a great production. But for some reason, I wasn't completely satisfied. While the show packs in tons of awesome songs, they often short change the numbers and use them more as scene changes than as integral stories to the plot. "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" was reduced to a 45 second blip and the big artists of the later 70's like the Commodores were simply a two minute sound bite. While the show definitely had a lot of ground to cover, I think they would have created a more satisfying musical experience by cutting the number of songs in half and really giving each one their due. I don't mind the different arrangements but truncating classics seems like a disservice to the music itself. The attachment of many of the songs to social causes also seemed a bit misplaced. It wasn't until the 70's where Motown finally started giving creative control to their artists and before that, Motown was seen a a-political. Having the black panther party march on their recording studio seemed a bit over the top. While the musical overall was successful and has its moments, it felt like many times, they were trying to accomplish too much in a musical that should've had the music as the focus. You can bet that's what Berry Gordy would've wanted.

My favorite part of the show was when the Jackson 5 made their "stage debut" and ushered in a new era for Motown! The child actor was great and for once, they gave the songs some real screentime. Plus who doesn't love the Jackson 5?

Looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC