Get ready for a night to remember as Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations Broadway musical makes its way to a stage near you! The Ain’t Too Proud Broadway show is currently in Orlando at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts now through Sunday, January 30th.
I was invited as media to cover this event. All opinions are my own.
Ain’t Too Proud Broadway Musical Review
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations is the electrifying new smash-hit Broadway musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The broadway musical includes 31 Temptations hit songs including “Baby Love,” My Girl,” and Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”! You will be singing and dancing right along with the incredible performers. The opening night show was absolutely outstanding!
Ain’t Too Proud Broadway musical tells the backstory of Otis Williams and his group which eventually become The Temptations. Did you know The Temptations is still touring today – 60 years later?! While the majority of the original group members have passed, Otis Williams is still going strong and sings along with other longtime bandmates.
Marcus Paul James does a fantastic job portraying Otis Williams in the Broadway musical. The main group members all do an incredible job remembering lyrics and dance moves to so many musical numbers! This is definitely a show not to miss Orlando!
Cast Chat Back
After the show wrapped opening night we were treated to a special chat back with 6 of the cast including Marcus Paul James (Otis Williams), Nick Drake (dance captain), James T. Lane (Paul Williams), Harrell Holmes Jr. (Melvin Fraklin), Elijah Lewis (David Ruffin) and Michael Andreaus (Berry Gordy).
The first question asked was about the rehearsal process and how difficult it was to learn all the choreography of the show. James shared “it’s wonderful and hard but we had two anchors – Marcus and Elijah – guiding us. The Temps’ choreography is very similar so it’s easy to get mixed up.” Nick added, “we’re so detail-oriented in the show that I have to tell them all the time where their hands should be, which way to slide, etc.” Elijah jokingly shared that musical theater is always a heightened version of something so even though The Temps’ did these moves – it was not to this magnitude.” Also adding, “The Temptations were known for their precision and smooth, slick moves.”
The next question asked was about the audition process. Michael shared that he auditioned for 2 years before getting a spot in the show. “It’s tough. They have to find a lot of triple threats.” Marcus added that “we’re at a wonderful time in musical theater, and the country changing. There used to be like one black male role in a show and then all of a sudden they had to cast a show with 13. I think it was a learning process for them to dig deeper to find the talent for this show.”
When asked about how familiar they were with The Temptations before being cast in the show, Elijah shared that Saturday mornings were cleaning day at his aunt’s house. She would blast their music and you knew it was time to get cleaning. Marcus mentioned he went to the Motown Museum and there was a book titled Motown the American Songbook and he thought to himself ‘it is, isn’t it.’ Elijah added that “Otis has graciously given us stories and different things but all we can do as artists is do our research and tell the truth.”
Photos courtesy of the Dr. Phillips Center
Get your tickets for the Ain’t Too Proud Broadway musical here!
As a disclosure, I wanted to mention that there is strong language in parts of the show, as well as drug usage scenes, so this may not be suitable for younger children.
You Are Also Going to Love:
Leslie Susan Clingan says
I grew up when the Temptations were very popular in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. We had to create dance routines to their music and that of Gladys Knight and the Pips for our P.E. classes. I love the song “Just My Imagination” and it brings tears to my eyes even today. Had to remind myself where you live. Orlando. A lot of off-Broadway and Broadway productions don’t make it to El Paso. But I will keep my eyes open for this one.