Motown Tour

I saw the Broadway production of Motown early in its run. I thought it was fine, but nothing I was going to rush out and see again (I also wasn’t feeling well the night I saw it, so that could be the case for my lack of enthusiasm for the show). That being said, I make it a point to support the national tours that come through DC. I caught the Motown tour during its second week here, and I was more than disappointed that both the understudies for Berry Gordy and Diana Ross were on. Vocally, Nik Alexander and Ashley Tamar Davis were excellent, but neither of them resembled the people they were portraying. The show was a lot more enjoyable than I anticipated, and found myself liking it much more so than I had on Broadway. The show was in excellent shape, and if a Goldstar discount appeared, I would see it again, as I wanted to see Josh Tower (Berry Gordy) and Allison Semmes (Diana Ross) before the tour left DC.

Thankfully the two of them were in the show Friday night. Josh Tower has a magnificent voice and stage presence. I really enjoyed his performance. I’m glad I got to see him before he left the tour (Chester Gregory begins his stint as Berry Gordy tomorrow in Richmond, VA). Allison Semmes was an excellent Diana Ross. I loved her audience interaction during her “Reach Out and Touch” sequence. The man she selected from the audience had a great voice. The cast seemed to enjoy him as well.

I like Chester Gregory, so I might make the trip to Baltimore in March when the show is there for a week.

Updated On: 1/4/16 at 04:32 PM

It didn't seem scaled back at all. Cast was rather large (not sure of number in comparison to the original Broadway production). The set was fine. The orchestra sounded great.