by Michael P Coleman
My grandma used to encourage me to enjoy every day, insisting that we don’t get a do-over.
Grandma was wrong.
Thanks to the phenomenal cast of Motown The Musical, music lovers in Sacramento will get to relive the glory days of Motown. The show runs May 18-29 at the Community Center Theater.
I was lucky enough to catch Motown The Musical, which began as a sensation on Broadway, when it was in San Francisco a couple of years ago. As I was born and raised in Detroit, I went to the show with a little bit of trepidation, as I didn’t think the show’s producers and performers would be able to capture musical icons like Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson without lapsing into parody.
Ross, Wonder, Jackson and all of rest of them — Smokey Robinson, Teena Marie, Marvin Gaye, Rick James, The Temptations, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Four Tops, Mary Wells — are all there, giving performances so convincing that you’ll almost believe you’d been whisked back to one of the legendary Motortown Review shows. The show actually begins in 1983, with Motown founder Berry Gordy planning the legendary Motown 25 television special.
Savor those first few minutes of relative calm, because once the music starts, you’ll be dancing in your seat.
 |
| Martina Sykes |
Actress Martina Sykes, who incredibly plays the Supremes’ Cindy Birdsong, Mary Wells, members of the Vandellas and Marvelettes, and one of Berry Gordy’s sisters told me the production’s grueling schedule — their Sacramento stop is part of a cross-country tour that started in January — has been a labor of love.
Having seen Sykes in action during the show’s San Francisco run, trust me when I tell you her mercurial performances will blow your mind. I asked the phenom how she managed to capture such very different, iconic personas.
“The Motown artists had such specific movements,” Sykes shared by phone. “The Temptations had their arm positions during ‘My Girl’, the Supremes were very polished and everything was petite versus the Vandellas. Mary Wells had her own flair with the quick foot movements. Those artists took etiquette classes, vocal lessons, and choreography classes, and because they went though all of those trainings, everybody had their own style. Because they were so different, you can capture the essence of who they were.”
Watching those portrayals live on stage, for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to see the legends in their heyday, is nothing such of breathtaking. Sykes told me it wasn’t easy.
“It’s an added pressure,” Sykes said of portraying music icons, “but that pressure is great because we had to portray them with truth and integrity, and we had to bring it. When we were in Detroit, those people [in the audience] were looking at us like ‘that’s my cousin, that’s my aunt.’ It pushed me to really dig in and learn what was so special about those artists. Mary Wells, for instance, had more success before she turned 21 than some artists have in an entire career. To be able to go back and portray people when they were so young and vibrant and passionate and hungry, you need to know what you’re doing.”
Sykes told me that keeping track of the various eras depicted in Motown The Musical was her biggest challenge.
“I didn’t grow up in the 50s or 60s”, the actress shared, “so it would be easy for me to portray something in a very 2016 way that wouldn’t be authentic for this show. The ladies then were completely different than they are now, the way they stood, the way they spoke, mannerisms…they were very poised, very classy. But it was also a season of change. We cover from 1948 to 1983, so keeping track of what era I’m in is challenging.”
As we wrapped up, I apologized to Sykes for the many moments I leapt from my seat when I saw Motown The Musical the first time, having been caught up in the music. Sykes assured me that I didn’t need to apologize — in fact, she said the cast loves it when the audience gets involved.
“This isn’t a traditional production,” she shared. “We love feedback from the audience, when they sing along, clap and dance, and get out of their seats. We want everyone to come out and have fun. Anyone from nine to 93 will have a great time at this show!”
Click here to purchase tickets to Motown The Musical, or call the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office at 916-557-1999.
If you’d like to be entered into a drawing to win a pair of tickets to Motown The Musical on Thursday, May 19th or Sunday, May 22nd, share this story on Facebook and / or Twitter and email your name, phone number, and email address to mikelsmindseye@me.com.
Michael P Coleman is a Detroit-born, Sacramento-based freelance writer. In his head, he’s been married to Diana Ross for decades.
Connect with him at mikelsmindseye@me.com or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ColemanMichaelP
