The hit West End production of Motown the Musical today (10 February 2017) releases over 200,000 new tickets for sale with the show now booking at the Shaftesbury Theatre to 24 February 2018 as the production celebrates its first birthday in London.
With music and lyrics from the Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy the production features a sixteen-piece orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl and I Heard It through the Grapevine. Charles Randolph-Wright’s production tells the story behind the classic hits.
With just $800 borrowed from his family, Motown founder Berry Gordy, goes from featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more. Motown the Musical uncovers the true story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.
The Tony nominated Motown the Musical received its world premiere in April 2013 in New York with Berry Gordy and legendary Motown artists Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wilson, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder attending opening night. The show began its West End run in February 2016 with Gordy, Robinson and Wilson once again supporting the show on opening night. Subsequently, during the London run, The Four Tops and Martha Reeves have also visited the production. The first US National Tour opened to critical acclaim in Spring 2014 in Chicago and continues to play to packed houses across America.
From 7 March 2017 the West End cast comprises Cedric Neal as Berry Gordy with Lucy St. Louis as Diana Ross, Obioma Ugoala as Smokey Robinson and Sifiso Mazibuko as Marvin Gaye. Members of the ensemble play the roles of Eddie Kendricks, Jackie Wilson, Anna Gordy, Esther, Teena Marie, Florence Ballard, Martha Reeves, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Mary Wells, Mary Wilson and Stevie Wonder. The ensemble features Cameron Bernard Jones, Ryan Carter, KM Drew Boateng, Samuel Edwards, Dujonna Gift-Simms, Vanessa Fisher, Terique Jarrett, Cleopatra Joseph, Wilson Kiiru, Natasha Leaver, Brandon Lee Sears, Kieran McGinn, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Samuel Nicholas, Brianna Ogunbawo, Matt Overfield, Jay Perry, Timothy Quinlan, Simon Ray Harvey, Sharon Rose, Lawrence Rowe, Ashley Samuels, Carl Spencer, Richard Taylor Woods, Alex Thomas-Smith, Cherelle Williams, Michael Woolston-Thomas and Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli. Nana Ageyman-Bediako, 11 years old from Haringey, London, Raphael Higgins-Humes, 11 years old from Greenwich, London, Rio Myers, 10 years old from Lewisham, London and Tumo Reetsang, 12 years old from Southwark, London alternate the role of Young Michael Jackson.
Motown the Musical is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, has music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Cook, dance arrangements by Zane Mark and music direction by Gareth Weedon. Choreography is by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, scenic design by David Korins, costumes by ESOSA, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Peter Hylenski and projections by Daniel Brodie. UK Associate Director is Tara Wilkinson, UK Associate Set Designer is Andrew Edwards and UK Associate Lighting Designer is Alistair Grant. Motown the Musical will be produced in the West End by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Berry Gordy and Adam Spiegel.
Motown the Musical is proudly supported by Swarovski crystal who originally partnered with the show on Broadway and provided 400,000 Swarovski crystals for costume and set.
As Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae’s new musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie opens at Sheffield Theatres, Wilson Way Records release a concept album of the musical with performances by John McCrea who plays Jamie, Josie Walker who plays Margaret and Gillespie Sells, with additional vocals by Sophie Ellis Bextor and Betty Boo. The album is available to buy from Sheffield Theatres and via iTunes.
Dan Gillespie Sells said today,
“Our director Jonathan Butterell said to me when we started working on Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: ‘write a concept album’. So that’s what I did. Producing this album was my way of arranging and honing the music for the show. It was a very important part of the process and we are delighted to share it with you.”
TRACK LIST
Don’t Even Know It
The Wall in My Head
Spotlight
The Legend of Loco Chanel (and the Blood Red Dress)
