“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING TO BE RELEASED JUNE 4th BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES
New Recordings of Motown Classics by the Stars of Broadway’s Hottest New Arrival
Album Includes Two New Songs Co-Written by Motown Founder Berry Gordy
“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” Nominated for four TONY® Awards
Los Angeles, California – May 13, 2013 – The original Broadway cast recording of “MOTOWN THE MUSICAL,” a show nominated for four TONY® Awards, is to be released June 4, 2013, by Motown/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). Co-produced by multi-GRAMMY® Award winner Frank Filipetti and TONY® Award nominee Ethan Popp, the album features a supremely talented cast performing exciting new versions of Motown classics including “Dancing In The Street,” “My Girl,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “I Want You Back,” and many more. Among the album’s 14 tracks are two new songs, “Hey Joe (Black Like Me)” and the showstopper “Can I Close The Door (On Love),” co-written by Berry Gordy, Motown Records’ founder as well as the writer and co-producer of the show. Included in the album’s CD booklet are one-of-a-kind cast photos and two essays, by Mr. Gordy and the director Charles Randolph-Wright.
With a sound that has become one of the most significant musical accomplishments and stunning success stories of the 20th century, the timeless music of Motown continues to be embraced by every generation. Last month, “MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” opened to great fanfare at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, with major media coverage, record-setting box office sales, and strong word-of-mouth endorsements from early show-goers, making it Broadway’s hottest new arrival.
“These performers are obviously not appearing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where Broadway’s latest jukebox musical opened Sunday night. Instead, their indelible styles are being effectively recreated by a blazing cast of gifted singers impersonating this crowded pantheon of pop-chart immortals.” – The New York Times
“More than a Broadway show, a celebration of music that transformed America!”
– CBS Sunday Morning
“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating show charts Motown founder Berry Gordy’s incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and so many more. Featuring all the classics you love, “MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America that shattered barriers, shaped our lives, and made us all move to the same beat.
Motown, of course, stands for more than just its historic music. The label and its remarkable legacy is a reflection of the hard work of dedicated individuals overcoming incredible obstacles to achieve great success. On January 12, 1959, a young African-American songwriter named Berry Gordy founded Tamla Records with a loan of $800 from his family, marking the birth of the “Motown Records Corporation.” A man of vision, drive, talent and determination, Gordy was also a producer, innovative entrepreneur, and teacher. Motown’s phenomenal success is a tribute to all that Gordy embodies and all of the artists he discovered and nurtured to stardom. Under his leadership, and through determination and support of the Motown family of creative artists, Gordy forged new ground for minorities and made the “Motown Sound” a worldwide phenomenon beloved by millions and the Motown brand a true global cultural icon.
Directed by Charles Randolph Wright, with a book by Berry Gordy, “MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” features choreography by Patricia Wilcox (Blues in the Night) and Warren Adams (Toy Story The Musical), scenic design by David Korins (Bring It On: The Musical, Annie), costume design by TONY® Award nominee ESosa (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, “Project Runway”), lighting design by TONY® Award winner Natasha Katz (Once, Sister Act), sound design by TONY® Award nominee Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages, The Scottsboro Boys), and projection design by Daniel Brodie (Jekyll and Hyde).
“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” features arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Rock of Ages), who supervises the show’s 18-piece orchestra to reproduce the classic “Sound of Young America” for the Broadway stage, with co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Crook (Smash), dance arrangements by Zane Mark (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and music direction by Joseph Joubert (Nice Work If You Can Get It).
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL Original Broadway Cast Recording
THE SONGS:
1. Battle Of The Stars: Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Prologue) / I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) / Ain’t Too Proud To Beg / Baby I Need Your Loving / I Can’t Get Next To You / Reach Out I’ll Be There / (I Know) I’m Losing You – Performed by the Orchestra, Four Tops and the Temptations
2. Hey Joe (Black Like Me) – Performed the Ensemble and Young Berry Gordy
3. Get Ready – Performed by Berry Gordy and Ensemble / Dancing In The Street – Performed by Martha & the Vandellas and Ensemble
4. The Motortown Revue: Please Mr. Postman – Performed by the Marvelettes / You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me – Performed by the Miracles / Do You Love Me – Performed by the Contours
5. Where Did Our Love Go / Stop! In The Name Of Love – Performed by the Supremes
6. My Girl – Performed by the Temptations and Berry Gordy
7. You’re All I Need To Get By – Performed by Berry Gordy and Diana Ross
8. War – Performed by the Ensemble / What’s Going On – Performed by Marvin Gaye and Ensemble
9. I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips and Marvin Gaye
10. I Want You Back / ABC / The Love You Save – Performed by the Jackson 5
11. Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand) – Performed by Diana Ross and Ensemble
12. Happy Birthday / Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Performed by Stevie Wonder
13. Can I Close The Door (On Love) – Performed by Berry Gordy
14. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Performed by Diana Ross, Ensemble
THE CAST
Berry Gordy: Brandon Victor Dixon
Diana Ross: Valisia LeKae
Smokey Robinson: Charl Brown
Marvin Gaye,: Bryan Terrell Clark
Michael Jackson, Young Berry Gordy, Young Stevie Wonder: Raymond Luke Jr.
THE ARTISTS (in order of album appearance)
The Temptations: Maurice Murphy (Dennis Edwards), Jawan M. Jackson, Jesse Nager, Ephraim Sykes, Donald Webber, Jr., and Julius Thomas III (David Ruffin, on “My Girl”)
Four Tops: Ryan Shaw (Levi Stubbs), Nick Christopher, Grasan Kingsberry, Eric LaJuan Summers
Martha & the Vandellas: Saycon Sengbloh (Martha Reeves), Rebecca E. Covington, N’Kenge
The Marvelettes: Rebecca E. Covington (Gladys Horton), Andrea Dora, Tiffany Janene Howard, Sasha Hutchings, Marielys Molina
The Miracles: Charl Brown, Sasha Hutchings, Jawan M. Jackson, Maurice Murphy, Ryan Shaw
The Contours: Eric LaJuan Summers (Billy Gordon), Grasan Kingsberry, Jamal Story, Ephraim Sykes, Daniel J. Watts
The Supremes: Valisia LeKae (Diana Ross), Ariana DeBose (Mary Wilson), Sydney Morton (Florence Ballard)
The Jackson 5: Raymond Luke, Jr. (Michael Jackson), Grasan Kingsberry, Eric LaJuan Summers, Ephraim Sykes, Julius Thomas III (Jermaine Jackson)
Gladys Knight & the Pips: Marva Hicks, Ryan Shaw, Milton Craig Nealy, Julius Thomas III
Stevie Wonder: Ryan Shaw
The Ensemble
Timothy J. Alex, Michael Arnold, Nicholas Christopher, Rebecca E. Covington, Ariana DeBose, Andrea Dora, Wilkie Ferguson III, Marva Hicks, Tiffany Janene Howard, Sasha Hutchings, Jawan M. Jackson, Morgan James, John Jellison, Grasan Kingsberry, Marielys Molina, Sydney Morton, Maurice Murphy, Jesse Nager, Milton Craig Nealy, N’Kenge, Dominic Nolfi, Saycon Sengbloh, Ryan Shaw, Jamal Story, Eric LaJuan Summers, Ephraim Sykes, Julius Thomas III, Daniel J. Watts, Donald Webber, Jr.