Music is the universal language that brings us all together. And you can feel the music rolling all through Charm City as The First National Tour of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations rolls on up to Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre for a one-week stop. Featuring the music & lyrics of The Legendary Motown Catalog with book by Dominique Morisseau, this show goes above and beyond the battle-cry of your ‘standard jukebox musical.’ This is the true, tell-all story of— as the title says— the life and times, and of course the music, of The Temptations. Directed by Des McAnuff with musical supervision and arrangements by Kenny Seymour, and Tony Award-winning choreography by Sergio Trujillo, this show brings everyone together with the music of America’s past and sends the heartbeat of love and togetherness pumping through the audience like no other show.
The design team— Howell Brinkley on lights, Peter Nigrini on projections, Charles G. Lapointe on hair & wig, Robert Brill on set, and Paul Tazewell on costumes— really brings a unifying finesse to the production’s aesthetic. Brinkley’s lighting is well-balanced; there are moments of mood lighting that enhance the more emotionally charged, slower numbers, and there are racing strobes that swing out over the audience for the bigger, louder party numbers of celebration. Nigrini’s projection work adds a heightened sense of raw exposure to the musical experience, particularly when the black and white still-shots of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and the moving video shots of the war are included as a visual backdrop to what’s happening in the literal and metaphorical background of that point in The Temptations’ lives. Brill’s set is simple, effective, and allows for the focus of the performance to be on the performers while creating the illusion of all of these places (again calling Nigrini’s projections in for the assist, every time The Temps start ‘moving on a tour.’) Lapointe does a phenomenal job of producing clean, polished wig and hair designs that fit the times as well as the styles of the individual; it’s a true blessing to see meticulously groomed hair-pieces so that the performers can look as radiant as they sound. The same can be said for Tazewell’s costumes. Tazewell captures the essence of the decades, as The Temps (and The Supremes and everyone in and around the periphery of this cultural-musical experience) move through time in this production. Tazewell gives more than just a sampling of the era, he packs flavorful fashion into every outfit, particularly the matching suits for The Temps, which radiate like the sun when they start popping and sliding through those ‘smooth moves’ of their dance routines.
Sergio Trujillo’s Tony Award-winning choreography is the stuff of true legend an it is proudly and smartly on display with The First National Tour of Ain’t Too Proud. From the very first routine of slide-gliding, button-poppin’, high-steppin’, march-strollin’ you can feel the past pulsating through Trujillo’s choreography with the heart and soul of a treasured American pastime. The moves are legendary; the set themselves to the music like Trujillo was crafting choreography for the original Temptations back in 1963. And they are executed with flawless precision, articulate enthusiasm, and feel revitalized and new every time a different song comes into play. There are moves repeated throughout the performance, but they never feel recycled or reused; Trujillo’s masterful experience gives each choreographic routine a fresh feel, giving each song its own unique movement signature.
While the show may be all about The Temptations, there are other musical talents featured throughout the production. Deri’andra Tucker as Diana Ross and The Supremes is one such talent. Traci Elaine Lee as Johnnie Mae— their original agent— is another. Both Tucker and Lee bring powerhouse voices to the table, belting and burning the house down with their vocals when they are featured. The same is true for Najah Hetsberger, playing Josephine— Otis’ once-and-former wife and mother of his child— and although the Josephine character is not an iconic historical musical act, Hetsberger has a fiery soulful voice that makes you believe she could have been. When she melts into “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” your heart hurts for her.
The leader of the pack, the backbone of The Temps, the narrative tour-guide for the show is Otis Williams (Marcus Paul James) and he is a guiding force to be reckoned with. James walks the fine line of being in the moment with his brothers and stepping out of the moment to reflectively relive the story and share it with the audience and he does this in such a way that it feels seamless. One minute he’s arm-rolling and strut-stepping alongside the others in a song and the next minute he has glide-stepped forward to the front of the stage and is speaking directly and truthfully at the house full of eager onlookers & listeners, drinking in his every word. His facial expressions are deeply satisfying in that they have just the right amount of exaggeration in the most exacting of moments; even when he’s funny or cracking jokes or loaded sarcastic comments he delivers these lines with sincerity. (They say that the blinding lights of the stage make it impossible to pick out individuals in an audience particularly in a house that large but you would swear James is making direct eye-contact with you and so many others as he looks around the audience, telling this epic story.) James has a beautiful voice that blends well with the others when they sing all the iconic hits of The Temptations but you finally get to hear his stunning voice in solo toward the end of the show with “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.” James is a stellar talent, particularly when it comes to sharing the story and the experience of Otis Williams and the group. There is so much emotion, so much earnest feeling, you really could be watching the real Otis Williams recount this experience to you as if he were home with you in your living room.
As Otis explains early on, once they’ve established the group name “The Temps”, that sometimes being a Temp meant ‘temporary’ and we see that all throughout the performance. Al Bryant (Brett Michael Lockley) is the first lead singer they have to fire, but not before you get to hear some of Lockley’s incredible vocals during the uncredited “Shout” medley that pops up as a scene-moving transitional number. And Lockley’s fancy footwork is second only to the David Ruffin character in this show. Of course as time passes there are other “Temp(orary)s” that come and go— Dennis Edwards (Harris Matthew), Richard Street (Devin Holloway), and Damon Harris (Lawrence Dandridge, who doubles up as the smooth, suave, and sincerely talented Smokey Robinson.) Each of these “Temps” finds their niche and perfectly so among the group, whether it’s impressive vocals, serious attitude, or styling moves. Matthew in particular, slides in to replace David Ruffin and like Otis Williams’ says— catches a touch of that “Ruffinitis” and goes off the rails having his diva moments too.
Paul (James T. Lane), Melvin (Harrell Holmes Jr.), Eddie (Jalen Harris), and David Ruffin (Elijah Ahmad Lewis) are the classic Temps alongside Otis, and when they sing— you’re transported right back to that moment in time— you can feel the beat, relive the heat, and love every minute of it. Each brings a unique personality and sound to the performance and they’re doing more than just ‘wearing the guise of an iconic historic musician.’ The catalog of songs covered in this production is impressive, each of the Temps (both temporary, original, and otherwise) getting a moment or more to shine through these numbers. It’s impossible to list them all; one must see it to hear, feel, and experience the joy and wonder of such music.
From the moment Marcus Paul James’ Otis encounters Harrell Holmes’ Jr.’s Melvin, you can tell it’s fast friendship (their circular chase is both hilarious and endearing.) And that bond is well-reflected throughout the entirety of the performance. Holmes Jr.’s deep, moving bass sound is truly a vocal grounding point for the group and his smile is one of the most radiant among the group. Jalen Harris’ Eddie and James T. Lane’s Paul arrive as a packaged deal with Lane’s character trying to always be the level-headed one while Harris’ character is a hot-headed pistol constantly shooting off at the mouth. Both have sensational style when it comes to executing Sergio Trujillo’s dance moves and harmonizing or presenting solos when it comes time to sing as The Temptations.
And at the risk of adding fuel to the flaming ego of the David Ruffin character, one could easily say that Elijah Ahmad Lewis is single-handedly stealing whole scenes of the show. When outfitting the cast— the tagline of “can’t nobody sing like Ruffin” hits hard and true when it comes to Elijah Ahmad Lewis and you hear it the moment he glistens into “My Girl.” And the dance moves are pure fire; Lewis is lightning in a bottle bringing the stellar sound, the sensational soul, and a surprising dose of humanity to the character, which could otherwise easily be played up for laughs. The David Ruffin character is larger than life, a master showman, and Lewis finds the person wrapped inside all of that chutzpah and charisma and brings that humanity forward in a tragically beautiful way. Energetic, enthusiastic, exuberant— especially when it comes to the drop-splits— you cannot help but be uplifted by Lewis’ performance, even when it’s difficult to swallow and you see David Ruffin at his darkest and his lowest. Like Marcus Paul James with Otis, you feel as if there are certain moments where Lewis is looking— and winking— right at you; it makes you feel like a part of the whole Temptations experience.
Ain’t Too Proud is not a stand-still musical; it will be like a rolling stone and roll straight out of Baltimore by the time the week is out. You do not want to miss this remarkable sensation; it is a true calling of joy and excitement and will show the world what it means to be one of The Temptations.
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations plays through May 8, 2022, at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre in the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center— 12 N. Eutaw Street in the Bromo Seltzer Arts District of Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 752-7444 or purchase them purchase them online.
To read the interview with Elijah Ahmad Lewis on playing David Ruffin, click here.
