Motown Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary

Motown will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Saturday 12 January. This anniversary coincides with ‘MOTOWN THE MUSICAL’ the UK tour heading to the Winter Gardens Blackpool from Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 August 2019.

The London production is currently playing at The Shaftesbury Theatre and is booking until 20 April 2019.

With music and lyrics from the Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Charles Randolph-Wright’s production features a live orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl, I Heard It through the Grapevine and tells the story behind the classic hits.

Creative consultant, Michael Lovesmith said ‘The UK has kept Motown alive and is one of the reasons why Motown is still so successful and loved today. The vibe here is fantastic, audiences are screaming and cheering and it’s incredible, it’s like being back in one of the shows from the 70s. We are so lucky to be able to continue sharing this incredible music today.’

Berry Gordy founded the Motown label in 1959 and the production tells the story of how with just $800 borrowed from his family he went from a featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.  Motown the Musical uncovers the true story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.

Charles Randolph-Wright said of the anniversary ‘When Motown started in 1959 every major city had a girl group, a guy group, a kids group and a great a lead singer but the unique thing that Detroit had was Berry Gordy, it had Motown. As we have seen every night with audiences at Motown the Musical, they still love the Motown music 60 years on and it appeals to every age. I love that each audience member finds some aspect of this show that resonates with them. The show is infectious, and the UK truly knows and loves this music. Motown continues to be more than a record label and a show, it’s a movement.’

The cast for the UK and Ireland tour includes Edward Baruwa who plays the leading role of ‘Berry Gordy’, Karis Anderson as ‘Diana Ross’, Nathan Lewis as ‘Smokey Robinson’ and Shak Gabbidon-Williams as ‘Marvin Gaye’.

The ensemble includes, Dayo Adeoye, Scott Armstrong, Simeon Beckett, Natalia Brown, Ethan Davis, Andrew Dillon, Akeem Ellis-Hyman, Christopher Gopaul, Daniel Haswell, Olivia Hibbert, Karis Jack, Michael Jeremiah, Amana Jones, Abz Kareem, Kane Matthews, DeeArna McClean, Matt Mills, Cordell Mosteller, Nicole Nyarambi, Spencer O’Brien, Perry O’Dea, Alex Okoampa, Reece Richards and Emma Robotham-Hunt.

“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” has music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Cook, dance arrangements by Zane Mark.  Choreography is by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, scenic design by David Korins, costumes by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Peter Hylenski, video by Daniel Brodie and Wig design by Charles Lapointe. “Motown the Musical” is produced in the UK by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Adam Spiegel and Berry Gordy.

The original Broadway cast recording of “Motown the Musical” is available via Motown Records, a label of UMG Recordings - www.classicmotown.com

Motown the Musical, Winter Gardens Blackpool, Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 August 2019. Tickets on-sale now at www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk.