When yet another jukebox musical was announced for Broadway, a collective groan could be heard by certain segments of the Broadway cognoscenti. Yet, Ain’t Too Proud, the story of The Temptations, stands on its own as a brilliant sparkler in the Broadway firmament, jukebox musical or not.
The sounds of Motown in the 1960s and 70s often were punctuated by a hit song by The Temptations. Songs such as “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” came first, supplemented by “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” The show’s book by Dominique Morisseau, based on the book The Temptations by Otis Williams (with Patricia Romanowski), captures the personal stories behind these tunes. Many of the episodes are punctuated by music from the times, as more than 30 selections are included in this show. Most of them are sung by the core group of five Temptations: Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin), Paul Williams (James Harkness), Melvin Franklin (Jawan M. Jackson), Eddie Kendricks (Jeremy Pope) and David Ruffin (Ephraim Sykes).
The group moves to the sumptuous choreography by Sergio Trujillo, which takes some of the standard Temptations moves and grafts onto them some brilliantly interpreted Broadway steps. The result is a seamless ride through the life and times of this well-known group. It is completely understandable how this musical – nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2019 – took home the prize for best choreography. The Temptations are letter-perfect in their dips, twists, slides and every other move in this slickly choreographed show. Their voices move with the same fluidity, as they seamlessly move through their own music catalogue as well as other Motown hits.
