Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations
Opening Night: March 21, 2019
Theater: Imperial Theatre
AIN’T TOO PROUD 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. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and so many more. After breaking house records at both Berkeley Rep and The Kennedy Center, AIN’T TOO PROUD, written by three‑time Obie Award winner Dominique Morisseau, directed by two‑time Tony Award® winner Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), and featuring choreography by Tony nominee Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, On Your Feet), now brings the untold story of this legendary quintet to irresistible life on Broadway. Get ready — ’cause here they come!
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March 21, 2019
While honoring all the expected biomusical clichés, which include rolling out its subjects’ greatest hits in brisk and sometimes too fragmented succession, this production refreshingly emphasizes the improbable triumph of rough, combustible parts assembled into glistening smoothness.
READ THE REVIEWMarch 21, 2019
What makes Ain’t Too Proud memorable is the sheer overwhelming talent of the cast. Even if no one character has enough time or space in the script to fill in the contours of a full personality beyond a few fast details — baritone Otis Williams liked his suits electric blue; Falsetto king Eddie Kendricks got the nickname Corn because he… loved cornbread! — they can still bring every sweet harmony and cross-step. As the original five Temptations, Derrick Baskin (Otis Williams), James Harkness (Paul Williams), Jawan M. Jackson (Melvin Franklin), Jeremy Pope (Eddie Kendricks) and Ephraim Sykes (David Ruffin) move gracefully through a functional book by Dominique Morrisseau, covering all the bases of the group’s innumerable ups and downs.
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March 21, 2019
When the Supremes appear a few times to sing with the Temps, the show suddenly gets a jolt of true star power, thanks to Candice Marie Woods’ electrifying performance as Diana Ross. But these brief moments also remind you of the Supremes-inspired, classic musical “Dreamgirls” — and the kind of rich and complex storytelling that’s missing from this show.
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March 21, 2019
Opening tonight, Ain’t Too Proud mostly accomplishes what so many of the lesser examples of this genre haven’t – a fine cast performs beloved songs, performs them well enough to conjure and honor the people they’re playing and the songs they’re singing, and adds enough Broadway dazzle to give the production an edge – a slight edge, but an edge – over the in-name-only descendant bands you might catch playing at your local amphitheater this summer.
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March 21, 2019
Merely plowing through all this locks Ain’t Too Proud into VH1: Behind the Music territory, but at least it’s done with intelligence and taste. If the show often plays like a hits compilation with commentary, the relative paucity of extended dramatic scenes is overshadowed at every step by the sheer exhilaration of the musical performances. And a narrative shape does gradually emerge; also, to a lesser extent, a social context for the key decades of the 1960s and ’70s.
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