The current show at The Muny is “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.” The Muny staging of the jukebox musical has brilliant performances of 31 wonderful songs from the Motown catalog, and it looks as great as it sounds.
Playwright Dominique Morisseau adapted the musical’s book from “The Temptations,” a memoir written by Otis Williams with Patricia Romanowski.
In the early 1960s, Williams combined two rival local groups in Detroit to form a quintet. Their elegant moves and rich harmonies would make them one of the most iconic groups in pop music history. The story continues until Williams, the show’s narrator, is the last living member of the group’s “Classic Five” configuration.
The story is gripping at The Muny, and the musical numbers are thrilling. Rickey Tripp’s choreography honors the distinctiveness of The Temptations’ moves, and the Muny Orchestra plays beautifully under music director Darryl G. Ivey. The songs and their authors are listed below.
The superb cast is headed by the actors who play the groups Classic Five:
- James T. Lane as Otis Williams
- Nick Rashad Burroughs as David Ruffin
- Elijah Ahmad Lewis as Eddie Kendricks
- Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin (Blue)
- Daniel Yearwood as Paul Williams
Robert Crenshaw is Al Bryant, the original member who left the group before the Classic Five lineup was established. Later Temptations are played by Joseph Anthony Byrd as Dennis Edwards, Aramie Payton as Richard Street, and Tyler Hardwick as Damon Harris.
The other Motown luminaries in the show are played by Galen J. Williams as Berry Gordy, Tyler Hardwick as Smokey Robinson, Candice Marie Woods as Diana Ross, E.J. Hamilton as Mary Wilson, and NaTonia Monét as Florence Ballard and Tammi Terrell. Steve Rosen is Shelly Berger, The Temptations’ manager. Nasia Thomas is Josephine, Otis’s first wife.
The Muny has become remarkably adept at exploiting the theater’s second century improvements—the lifts and the improved lighting, turntable, and video screens. A striking background for the action is created by the complete integration of Edward E. Hanes Jr.’s scenic design, Kevan Loney’s video, and Rob Denton’s lighting.
The set includes a segment of a bridge on the turntable, the front of a house, and booms decorated with a view of skyscrapers seen by someone looking straight up from street level. The forced perspective in scenic painting on the booms is eyepopping.
The video design adds two screens to the three that are built in. The combination forms a nearly continuous wall of video that sets the action in its physical and historic context. When the focus needs to be on one part of the huge Muny stage, the lighting makes everything else irrelevant.
The production’s authenticity is enhanced by Gail Baldoni’s costumes (based on original costume design by Paul Tazewell), Kelley Jordan’s wig designs, and Joshua Hummel’s sound.
Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s direction brings everything together seamlessly and uses the setting’s flexibility to maintain an invigorating pace.
“Ain’t Too Proud” continues through August 2 at The Muny in Forest Park.
—Gerry Kowarsky
Photo © Phillip Hamer Photography
From the left, Jawan M. Jackson, James T. Lane, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, and Daniel Yearwood as the “Classic Five” Temptations in “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.”
| Ain’t Too Proud to Beg | Edward Holland Jr. and Norman Whitfield |
| Baby Love | Brian Holland, Edward Holland Jr. and Lamont Dozier |
| Ball of Confusion | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| Cloud Nine | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| Come See About Me | Brian Holland, Edward Holland Jr. and Lamont Dozier |
| Don’t Look Back | Ronald White and William Robinson Jr. |
| For Once in My Life | Orlando Murden and Ronald N. Miller |
| Get Ready | William Robinson Jr. |
| Gloria | Leon Rene |
| I Can’t Get Next to You | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You) | Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield and Rodger Penzabene Sr. |
| (I Know) I’m Losing You | Cornelius Grant, Edward Holland Jr. and Norman Whitfield |
| I Want a Love I Can See | William Robinson Jr. |
| I Wish It Would Rain | Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield and Rodger Penzabene Sr. |
| If I Could Build My Whole World Around You | Harvey Fuqua, Johnny William Bristol and Vernon Bullock |
| If You Don’t Know Me by Now | Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff |
| I’m Gonna Make You Love Me | Gregg Crockett, Skip Batey and Gregg Peacock-America |
| In the Still of the Night | Fred Parris |
| Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| My Girl | Ronald White and William Robinson Jr. |
| Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| Runaway Child, Running Wild | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| Shout | O’Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley and Rudolph Isley |
| Since I Lost My Baby | Warren Moore and William Robinson Jr. |
| Speedo | Esther Navarro |
| Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| The Way You Do the Things You Do | Robert Rogers and Williams Robinson Jr. |
| War | Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield |
| What Becomes of the Brokenhearted | James Dean, Paul Riser and William Weatherspoon |
| You Can’t Hurry Love | Brian Holland, Edward Holland Jr. and Lamont Dozier |
| You’re My Everything | Cornelius Grant, Norman Whitfield and Rodger Penzabene Sr. |
