Motown the Musical

Broadway
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
5/18/13 

Matinee

I’m not going to lie to you. I’m probably the least qualified person to take on the task of reviewing Motown the Musical. I was born decades after the Motown era. While some of these classic songs are familiar to me (thanks to a childhood filled with my father’s “oldies” records), they were never really ingrained in my musical taste. Speaking of my father, it was because of him that I ended up in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre last weekend. I invited him to accompany me on a NYC day trip and I told him I would get tickets to any new Broadway show- his choice. He picked Motown. 

So although I may not be the most qualified reviewer, I would like to say a few words in support of the show simply because it far exceeded my expectations. Despite the fact that I knew nothing about Motown and only recognized about 25 percent of the music, I really did enjoy the performance. 

Synopsis: Motown the Musical chronicles the career of Mr. Berry Gordy, founder of the Motown record label. Motown boasted the talents of Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder. The musical essentially portrays three main events in the career of Berry Gordy between 1938 and 1983: his founding of the record label including his family’s financial support; his relationship with Diana Ross; and the loss of many key artists to larger record labels and his ultimate decision to sell the company. 

Comments: For me, Motown was actually reminiscent of Million Dollar Quartet in that both musicals represented the struggle of smaller record labels to compete with larger companies. Many great artists got their big breaks from smaller record labels, only to later leave the label for the offer of more money from a larger company. From a financial perspective, the smaller labels simply could not compete with the larger labels. However, both Million Dollar Quartet and Motown portray the indelible role of these labels in history.  In particular, Motown recognizes the record label’s role in civil rights. 

As book writer and producer, Berry Gordy integrates sixty songs into his life story pretty seamlessly. As I mentioned earlier, the plot is quite simple and mainly covers the start of Motown, Gordy’s relationship with Diana Ross, and his decision to sell Motown after many artists move on to larger record labels. Though simple and straightforward, the book is injected with familiar, humorous inferences. 

The music was, of course, the big audience pleaser. If you see Motown, expect the audience to be singing along with these popular covers. Expect to feel like you’re at a Diana Ross concert. And if you’re sitting in the front row, expect to get onstage and sing with Diana Ross (aka Tony nominated Valisia LeKae). Motown is not your typical Broadway musical. 

There are many things to enjoy at Motown the Musical. The spot-on acting/impersonation, the familiar music, the choreography.  I think I appreciated the historical significance of Motown most of all and I’m glad that Berry Gordy has the chance to share his story with Broadway audiences. 

Matilda

Broadway
April 20, 2013
Matinee

Synopsis: Matilda Wormwood is an exceptional little girl who is born into un-exceptional circumstances. Her mother is vain, shallow, and loud. Her father is a dishonest, book-loathing car salesman, who can’t seem to remember that Matilda is, indeed, a girl. Her brother is dull and dim-witted. Matilda finds an escape in books and story-telling, and she eagerly embraces the start of school. However, school brings new challenges, most notably, the evil, child-hating headmistress- Miss Trunchbull. Matilda unleashes secret powers in order to help her fellow classmates, her new teacher, Miss Honey, and herself. Winner of seven Olivier awards, Matilda was recently nominated for twelve Tony Awards. 

Comments: Based on the beloved book by Roald Dahl, the most remarkable thing about Matilda is that it is appropriate and enjoyable for people of all ages. Part of this is due to Dahl’s ability to portray the darker side of childhood, and this is not lost in the transition from book/movie to musical thanks to book writer Dennis Kelly. 

The title role is shared by four young actresses. It should be noted that the four Matildas are not eligible for a Tony Award, but instead, are sharing a special Tony Honor at this year’s Tony Awards. My Saturday matinee Matilda was the very spunky and adorable Miss Sophia Gennusa, who rapidly won the hearts of the audience members.  I particularly loved her performance of “Naughty”, which I thought was written, choreographed, and performed cleverly. Sophia’s Matilda was quietly intense, mysteriously imaginative, and wise beyond her years. 

I can’t talk about Matilda without discussing the stand-out performance of Tony nominee Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull. If I had to describe his performance in one word, it would be: scary. I am not a child and I was scared of him, or at least scared of the possibility of his character breaking the fourth wall! First of all, the costume designers and make-up artists must be credited with making Miss Trunchbull look truly hideous. The rotting teeth and facial warts complete with a single protruding hair were particularly effective. I also loved the hairy legs- a nice touch.  With a chilling smirk, an insidious glance, a determined narrowing of the eyes, and an intimidating command of the stage, Bertie Carvel has created a truly creepy character.  Bravo. 

Tony nominee Gabriel Ebert and Lesli Margherita were a great comic duo as Matilda’s parents. Though the characters were ignorant and self absorbed, I thoroughly enjoyed their time on the stage because they were just hilarious.  Tony nominee Lauren Ward was perfectly sweet and well-mannered as Miss Honey, Matilda’s teacher and advocate.   

Choreography by Peter Darling was fabulous- it made me want to go home and jump on a swing-set! The energetic ensemble of young performers, who played Matilda’s classmates, was fantastic. I also loved the library-themed sets. 

Music by Tim Minchin included several memorable songs, specifically “Revolting Children” and “Naughty”, but many songs seemed to support the choreography rather than provide a memorable melody to the ear. Not that I’m complaining, because as I mentioned earlier, the choreography was a major highlight in this show. 

Check out Matilda at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway!