David Mirvish/ain’t too proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations, book by Dominique Morisseau, music from The Legendary Motown Catalogue, choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, directed by Des McAnuff, CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, until Dec. 17. Tickets here.
We have to begin with the choreography for ain’t too proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations, which finally earned Canadian-born Sergio Trujillo his Tony Award.
There is doo-wop and there is doo-wop. The R&B music of the 1950s and 60s always featured the music groups performing some kind of synchronized movement, but what Trujillo has conjured up for the Temptations is mind-boggling in its complexity. The patterns are different for every song, and there are a lot of them. What Trujillo has accomplished is pure genius, and it is worth the trip to the theatre just to see it.
The other Canadian connection is director Des McAnuff, who knows his way around jukebox musicals. It was his deft production of Jersey Boys (2005) that created the monster hit that became the 12th longest-running show in Broadway history. In ain’t too proud, McAnuff works his magic with The Temptations, one of Motown’s legendary singing groups.
The book by Dominique Morisseau, adapted from founding singer Otis Williams’ memoir, The Temptations (written with Patricia Romanowski), has a real authentic feel. Actress and playwright Morisseau is a creature of Detroit, and many of her plays are set in that city. The Temptations’ story is one that she understands and can relate to.
ain’t too proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations opened on Broadway in 2019, but actually paid a visit to Toronto in 2018 on the way to New York, so this tour is a second coming. It is also one of the shows that got caught in the COVID crisis, which curtailed its run. This ensemble, however, is marvellous, and I can’t imagine that the original Broadway cast was more talented than these touring Temps (as the group called themselves).
Otis Williams (Michael Andreaus) is the narrator. As one of the founders of the singing group, he traces the rise of the Temps from the streets of Detroit to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He started the group to save himself from street gangs after a term in prison.
In what is a pretty straightforward history, we follow the changing members of the group who leave due to drugs, alcohol or conflict. For the classic Temps, Otis recruits Paul Williams (E. Clayton Cornelious), Melvin Franklin (Harrell Holmes Jr.), Eddie Kendricks (Jalen Harris), and David Ruffin (Elijah Ahmad Lewis), later to be followed by Al Bryant (Devin Price), Dennis Edwards (Dwayne P. Mitchell), Richard Street (Devin Holloway) and Damon Harris (Derek Adams). The astonishing fact is that no matter who is in the group, it always sounds like the Temps. In fact, over the years, there have been 27 incarnations of the group, or so Otis tells us.
Along the way, we meet Motown mastermind Berry Gordy (Jeremy Kelsey) and the Temps’ wily manager Shelley Berger (Ryan M. Hunt), the only White man in the cast. Other cameos include Smokey Robinson and Norman Whitfield, who wrote many of the Temps’ hits, and, of course, Diana Ross and the Supremes.
We do see some private life such as Otis’ much put-upon wife Josephine (Quiana Onrae’l Holmes) and his distant son Lamont (Felander), as well as Ruffin’s abused girlfriend, singer Tammi Terrell (Shayla Brielle G.).
What I gather is that Otis Williams was obsessed with keeping the Temps on the road to maintain their profile. He also was afraid to take chances, or make changes, and it was Eddie Kendricks who presented his greatest challenge. In fact, Jalen Harris as Kendricks gives the strongest performance of the show.
The large band under Jonathan “Smitti” Smith is awesome, and when I say large, I mean five musicians travelling with the tour, augmented by seven local musicians. It is a very big sound.
Robert Brill’s simple but effective set includes moving walls and projections, while Paul Tazewell has come up with a gazillion showy jackets for the Temps and other period designs.
A revolving door of Temp members is not the most exciting story in the world, but the Motown catalogue is the big draw. Songs are sung both as performance numbers, and as illustrations of what is happening in their lives.
By the time the Temptations get to “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, we’ve experienced 31 Motown hits, and I say that alone is worth the price of admission.
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