A Theatre Review by Keri Tombazian
Director Des McAnuff has another hit on his hands – a heart-stopping, electrifying, spectacular telling of one of the greatest bands of any genre in American history. Even more than his terrific Jersey Boys, the crowning jewel of Ain’t Too Proud is the music. It is the sweeping history of a turbulent and fantastic time in the music industry on the whole and R&B in particular. They strived to move on up the charts; all that striving also moved the dial of civil rights and racial integration.
Temptations founder and Ain’t Too Proud co-executive producer Otis Williams’ real life journey began in segregated Detroit and continues to this very day. It is his voice, in the brilliant person of Derrick Baskin, that breaks the fourth wall to tell the storied history of a generation of men and women who changed the face of American music and culture, forever. It is breathtaking; all of it.
Opening night audiences typically buzz with the possibility of seeing something wonderful unfold in real time, but when the Ahmanson curtain went up on Ain’t Too Proud the overture of love from the seats was greater than any in recent memory. For a moment it seemed we were cheering the actual Temptations themselves, then snapping-to in a moment of clarity, giving the actors their due for their remarkable performances. All night long that line between memory and reality was blurred–and therein lies some of the magic of the show.
Baskin hit the stage with intention, focus, and a strange ease that never wavered for a moment. By the time he sang his big solo late in the second act, it came almost as a surprise that he sings, and a revelation that he does so well.
The actors are, to a person, as solid as gold. Candice Marie Woods is specific and marvelous in her portrayal of Diana Ross: flanked in syncopated motion by the equally compelling Nasia Thomas (Florence Ballard) and Taylor Symone Jackson (Mary Wilson),
In anticipating this long-awaited show, it seemed impossible that any performer, of any caliber, would be able to affect the sound and spirit of Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Paul Williams, Melvin “Blue” Franklin, and Dennis Edwards. But with their prodigious talent, Jeremy Pope (Kendricks), Ephraim Sykes (Ruffin), James Harkness (P. Williams), Jawan M. Jackson (Blue), and Saint Aubyn (Edwards) caught the very essence of and did these men proud.
Like oak beams, the ensemble cast undergirds the principles, and each gets a nod here: Jahi Kearse (Barry Gordy), Joshua Morgan (Shelly Berger), Christian Thompson (Smokey Robinson), Nasia Thomas (Mama Rose/Tammi Terrell/Florence Ballard), Jarvis B Manning (Al Bryant/Norman Whitfield), Shawn Bowers (Lamont), Rashidra Scott (Josephine), Taylor Symone Jackson (Johnnie Mae/Mary Wilson), and E. Clayton Cornelious (Richard Street).
Every element of design is a testimony of harmony between designers: from Peter Nigrini’s clever projections, to Howell Binkley’s dynamic lighting, to Paul Tazewell’s spot-on costumes, to Robert Brill’s specificity of scenery.
Having grown up with the Temptations blaring from a transistor radio, hitchhiking to Santa Monica Beach, then later playing the music of the Temptations through all my decades on the radio, I confess to a sentimentality about this show. Likely just about everyone has some conscious or unconscious connection to their music. Yet, I tell you the truth: Ain’t Too Proud stands as a great work, separate from any nostalgic influence.
Ain’t Too Proud workshopped at Berkley Reperatory Theatre. It is a treat for Los Angeles, and perhaps a feather in the cap of Center Theatre Group to be its first home on its way to what will surely be a long fruitful run on Broadway.
Ain’t Too Proud runs through September 30th.
Photo cred: https://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/ahmanson-theatre/2018-19/aint-too-proud/