While people of all ages dressed up on Halloween night, the audience members at “Motown the Musical" had the opportunity to travel back in time to the 1960s, '70s and '80s. The show opened on Oct. 31 at the IU Auditorium with singing and dancing as it told the history of a prominent musical era.
“Motown the Musical” follows the life of Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and shows the rise of many stars like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson. All of the music performed in the musical is directly from "The Legendary Motown Catalog," according to the show's program.
The musical opened with a dance number that recreated a TV special celebrating the 25th anniversary of Motown at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in 1983.
“We see a really big number with the Temptations and the Four Tops and they’re doing what is called ‘The Battle of the Stars,’ which is a medley of numbers that made them very famous over the years,” actor Kenneth Mosley said.
Act One continued by rewinding back in time to 1938 when Gordy was a young child in Detroit, and from there jumped from various scenes and years, all the way until 1968 when Motown was “In and Around Hitsville, U.S.A." Hitsville was the nickname of Motown's first headquarters.
“I’ve never seen it before,” IU sophomore Vanesa Quiroga said. “It was something fun to do on Halloween.”
Recognizable songs like “My Girl” by the Temptations and “Stop in the Name of Love” by the Supremes were performed by Trenyce Cobbins, who played Diana Ross, and other members of the ensemble.
“I wanted to come see it for several years,” attendee Beverly Goins said. “I saw an ad on Groupon and decided to come.”
Act Two picked back up in Hitsville in 1968 and then in the following scenes showed different parts of Motown from the 1970s and early 1980s. The final scene took the audience back to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in 1983, where the musical first began.
“Motown” tickets can be found online at the IU Auditorium’s website, with tickets ranging between $17 to $49 for students and $29 to $71 for the general public. The show will run at the auditorium until Nov. 2.
“As a music fan, you hear it all around you, almost every day I assure you, Mosley said. “So just come out and see Motown and the back story and how it all began. Have a great time with some great music and dancing, it’s a really fun and heartfelt show."
