"Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" Broadway tour at the Ordway Center

The trend of biomusicals about musicians and their lives and careers has reached The Temptations, one of the most successful groups to come out of Motown. Ain't Too Proud is based on a book written by Otis Williams, one of the founding members, and the musical's book was written by acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau, whose plays have been produced by several local theaters. The musical is similar in structure to Jersey Boys, one of the first (and in my opinion best) biomusicals, which follows the life of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. In both musicals the story of the group is narrated by its members, but there's just one narrator here - Otis Williams. He tells the story of The Temptations directly to the audience, from their formation, to their early hits, to the rotating door of members. And it's chock full of great Motown hits of the '60s and '70s, by other artists as well as The Temptations. The tour first came to town two years ago (at the Orpheum*), and is now bringing its high energy, sharp choreography, and classic hits to the Ordway for one week only.

"Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations" Broadway tour at the Orpheum Theatre

The trend of biomusicals about musicians and their lives and careers has reached The Temptations, one of the most successful groups to come out of Motown. Ain't Too Proud is based on a book written by Otis Williams, one of the founding members, and the musical's book was written by acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau, whose plays have been produced by Penumbra Theatre and Yellow Tree Theatre (the latter did Skeleton Crew two years before its recent Broadway premiere). The musical is similar in structure to Jersey Boys, one of the first (and in my opinion best) biomusicals, which follows the life of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. In both musicals the story of the group is narrated by its members, but there's just one narrator here - Otis Williams. He tells the story of The Temptations directly to the audience, from their formation, to their early hits, to the rotating door of members. And it's chock full of great Motown hits of the '60s and '70s, by other artists as well as The Temptations. This traveling cast is truly phenomenal and brings great energy to the show, and a good time was had by all. Join the celebration on Hennepin Avenue through July 10.

"On Your Feet!" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

On Your Feet! The Emilio and Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical tells the story of a real-life American Dream. Gloria and Emilio immigrated with their respective families from Cuba to Miami, where they met, married, and built a pop music empire. The line that got the biggest response on opening night was Emilio telling a music exec who said they could never cross over from the Latin market, "this is what an American looks like." Even though this scene happened 30-some years ago, it's particularly poignant today. As is watching an all Latinx cast in a Broadway musical (when have we ever seen that?) as talks of a wall on our Southern border dominate the news. But I don't mean to get too political or heavy. All of the above is true, and does add resonance to the story, but On Your Feet! is also a super fun musical celebrating a music superstar and the man behind the woman. The Broadway tour is in Minneapolis for just one week, giving us the opportunity to get out of the January cold and experience the Miami heat for a few hours (click here for info and tickets, including student/educator rush tickets).