“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” is the electrifying new musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The rest is history — how they met, the groundbreaking heights they hit and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that my first Broadway musical ever was “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations.” How is it possible that I live in NYC, work in the film industry and have never seen a Broadway musical? I couldn’t come up with an excuse if I tried! Countless times, other actors on set will be raving about all of the plays they see on a regular basis and I just sit there quietly smiling and nodding while I listen to their stories of what an amazing night they had in the theatre. Of course, I get to do this when it comes to movies, but it’s not the same. Now I have my own story and I have already started bragging on social media. The awesome thing is, one of my friends who sees about 7 plays a week has never seen this one!
So I get an e-mail from a fellow writer who writes mainly for theatre. We met at a film screening, where I meet the most fabulous people. She sat right next to me and told me about all the Broadway plays she gets to write about; roughly 10 a week! So we exchanged e-mails and within days I started receiving invites from her. The beautiful perks about being PRESS no one brags about, but I’m going to because I mean, why not? It means not having to wait in line, receiving tickets that say $0 comp, and having the most amazing seats in the theatre. Yes, not too close to the stage but close enough and right in the center. And of course, the best part is I get to share my whole experience with you.
I walk in and a lovely lady gives me a program and shows me to my seat which is L112. The seat is comfortable but has very little leg room. I just fit in the seat without having to take my legs off and put them in my bag. I ran to the bathroom because I knew I couldn’t enjoy the show If I had to go. When I return, I get comfortable and then they announce to turn off your cell phones and open up any annoying candy wrappers you have now so you don’t disturb others. Immediately, I hear annoying candy wrappers everywhere! The lights dim and these beautiful group of men start singing. This made me so happy!
The whole story “Ain’t Too Proud” is narrated by the founder of the group, Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin). He starts off as a young boy in Detroit, getting into trouble and decides to straighten his life up and dedicate himself to his music. Eventually, he begins to seek out other potential members this is how he meets base singer Melvin “Blue” Franklin (Jawan M. Jackson), then Paul Williams (James Harkness), Eddie Hendricks (Jeremy Pope) and David Ruffin (Ephraim Sykes). The cast couldn’t get any better. They seemed so cohesive and generous, working off of each other. I loved how they began the story as kids and we see Otis gradually forming the group and trying to keep everyone together. Things take off when he meets Berry Gordy and begins working under his guidance. We see everything from sudden fame, then big egos to drug use to touring across the country and encountering racism. There was nothing left out of the story, it was beautifully done. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better they bring on The Supremes and the crowd went crazy! We see some love affairs, the birth of children, paths fallen off, depression, illness and death; this musical included everything.
Let’s talk about these vocals for a moment because I went to sleep singing every song in this play! I was super impressed with all of the vocal ranges. Everyone was absolutely incredible and of course, I knew just about all of the lyrics. I want to especially highlight a few performances that are still in every fiber of my body as I write this. The performance of David Ruffin by Ephraim Sykes just blew me away. The energy in his performance just made me want to get out of my seat and I don’t even have words for how much control his voice is and his dancing was so on point, just wow; super impressive. Amazing, amazing actor, I can’t wait to see more from him. I also want to say that Derrick Baskin did an incredible job as Otis Williams. He carried the entire story and did it powerfully and seamlessly. He was in control of his performance and I love this about him! Jawan M. Jackson was absolutely fantastic as Melvin “Blue” Franklin. He was sensitive, funny, charismatic and I felt he was a very generous actor and I really enjoyed what he did with the character.
Without spoiling too much, I want to say that this performance has everything you could want, great music, a powerful cast, and an incredible story about one of the most influential music groups of all time. Everyone did a great job! The vocals were strong, the dance was perfect, it has drama, sadness, joy, and triumph. I recommend everyone see this. Ok, so now that I am hooked on the theatre, I can’t wait to tell you about my next one.
Now performing at the Imperial Theatre in New York
