Shoulders moved to the beat. Heads nodded. Feet tapped in time. Some even sang or clapped enthusiastically along with each number.
Then they cheered. A lot. It started with “The Way You Do the Things You Do.”
That was the enthusiastic reaction to Gateway Playhouse’s Long Island premiere of “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations,” about five guys evolving from a tough factory neighborhood in Detroit, looking for a better way out through their singing in an era where songs were mostly about love and girls and harmony.
It is brilliant.
Thirty cast members, as well as an outstanding orchestra onstage perfecting the score (via keys 1 and 2, saxophone, flute, trombone, electric guitar, electric bass and drum; bless you musicians, led by music director Jacinth Greywoode and associate music director Jake Turski), touched the audience with their story starting in 1961. Motown label founder, record, film and television producer as well as songwriter Berry Gordy (Greg Watkins); singer Smokey Robinson (Cedric Jamaal Greene), who wrote “My Girl”; Diana Ross (Alanna Lovely) and the Supremes, Mary Wilson (Renee Marie Titus) and Tami Terrell (Montria Walker); as well as manager Shelly Berger (Deric Gochenauer) are the musical greats portrayed creating a fascinating historical telling.
Thirty-one fabulously sung songs, “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” the Supremes’ “Baby Love,” are in there. But the absolute grace and power in the gorgeous choreography, smooth, funky spins, pumping arms, explosive knee slides and pirouettes are breathtaking. Oh my.
A big thanks to choreographer Ian Coulter Bouford. Wow!
Founder Otis Williams (Jahmaul Abiodun Bakere) is the grounded member who narrates the story throughout and sings, one that chronicles the group’s humble beginnings with a few troubles; Otis went to juvenile detention for six months before getting the right group together.
“Singing will be my salvation,” he says. And it was.
The originals were Otis Williams (Bakere), Melvin Franklin (Keith Johnson), Paul Williams (Marquez Williams), Eddie Kendricks (Jovan E’Sean) and Elbridge Bryant (Jamaur Houston). Bryant was replaced with David Ruffin (Kalonjee M Gallimore). Dennis Edwards (Bryant) replaced Ruffin.
Kobe Brown, who plays young Otis (also Otis’s son Lamont), projects the vulnerability and earnestness of a talented teen, one with a directed drive. (Great voice; Brown is from Michigan with a slew of national tour acting and TV/film credits.)
When young Otis has to ask bass singer Melvin Franklin’s (a terrific Keith Johnson) mama if he can join the group, it’s one of many humorous moments in the musical. (Guys actually did that then. And after a sassy conversation, while wanting Melvin to finish school, she said yes.)
In spite of the drug and alcohol abuse, infidelities and money troubles, the singers made their mark.
David Ruffin (Gallimore), the lead vocalist for “My Girl,” and others had a dad that beat his mother. He was in love with Tammi Terrell, but manhandled her. Gallimore played Ruffin’s ferocious ego magnificently, flicking off his lateness, jumping up onstage after he was fired, but his rendition of “I Wish That It Would Rain,” after Terrell dies, is emotionally searing.
“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” with Alanna Lovely as Diana Ross, is gorgeous (the costumes are to die for: aqua and teal sequins for The Supremes; sassy jackets, some with fringe, for The Temptations).
The group experienced a long, complicated trajectory, including the civil-rights movement, discrimination (they were shot at traveling to a gig). There were segregated hotels as well as nefarious attractions on tour. Otis’s marriage to Josephine (a touching Gabrielle Beckford) fell apart because of his touring.
But their efforts brought them four Grammy Awards, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, national television attention, and the distinction of breaking out as a Black group.With some of the highs and dramas was sadness. Eddie Hendricks (Jovan E’Sean), who had lung cancer, recorded “Just My Imagination,” the last song before he died. The rendition sailed over the audience like a hymn.
“For Once in My Life,” sung by Paul Williams (Marqez Linder), who was lead singer with Dennis Edwards on “Cloud Nine,” had contracted sickle cell anemia. He began drinking and ultimately died by suicide. His farewell song was beautiful.
There is a lot to take in with this beautiful show. It is fast-paced and mostly covers the eras between the early 1960s into the mid 1970s. Berry Gordy was a good, savvy initial manager for them, stressing quality and staying focused on their work. Otis still performs and Shelly Berger still manages the current Temptations group. The assassination of Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, and peace marches are utilized in projections. The stage, with the orchestra in the rear, provides a clean slate for the cast, who sing their hearts out and dance like there’s no tomorrow.
“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” is a musically glorious show and an impressive Long Island theater first.
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