The Skinny on Motown the Musical Motown the Musical, presented in a group effort by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Berry Gordy, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, derived from the autobiographical book written by Berry Gordy himself, To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown. The musical depicts outstanding career of Berry Gordy and the rise of Motown Records. Motown the Musical left a lasting impression on me and all it encounters through the environments it is presented in, the outstanding acting, and the marvelous design elements. On the 30th of July, I was fortunate enough to see Motown the Musical which was performed in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the Walton Arts Center. The theatre itself was extraordinary. As I entered …show more content…
The costumes, who were designed by Emilio Sosa, were relative to the time period the play was set in, (1938-1983). They started out very simple and I did notice the outfits starting to evolve as the years went on to more sparkly and extravagant looks. The men’s costumes were warm, earthy colors with the exception of a few red, gold, and blue suits while the women’s costumes were colder and brightly colored in shades of pink, gold, and red. I remember one specific costume that the Supremes wore early in the musical. They were knee length, body hugging, and solid gold dresses. They really shined in the lights, making them memorable. To me, these dresses signified the Supremes evolving in their fame. The sound, designed by Peter Hylenski, was really impressive. The music was played by a live orchestra. They played loud enough so that even people in the back, like me, could hear them clearly. The actors’ vocals were live as well and was amplified with small lapel microphones. The sound was well designed and constantly thriving. There never once were any awkward moments during the musical because the sound kept it all …show more content…
Vocally, Gregory kept the audience alive with his “one of a kind” voice. He acted in such a way that I could feel his emotions. I could see how bad he wanted to pursue a music career when he was talking to his family about the subject and they were being hesitant. Gregory stayed in character and remained genuine throughout the musicals entirety. Allison Semmes, as Diana Ross also gave an outstanding performance. It was as if she poured her heart and soul into everything she did. She left everything on the stage. Semmes was the total package. She could sing, dance, and act. By the end of the show it was as if I knew Diana Ross on a personal
This paper will be an updated version of my last paper which talked about a portion of Barry Gordy's background, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations and their start at Motown. How Motown was the first American music label owned by an African-American, the first music label to successfully market black artists to white mainstream audiences. How Motown was responsible for discovering, mentoring, and perfecting a lot of American popular music's most influential and successful artists and the best albums and artists and what new artists have entered Motown.
“We stuck to who we were at Motown, and the world came around.” Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown records relayed at the Occidental College’s 125th commencement ceremony in 2007. Motown was “the new voice of America” due to its great impact and influence on the music industry and society. Numerous events were happening in America at that time and Berry Gordy identified several of these factors to target the music of Motown and its artists to young audiences in specific ways. There were various social, musical and cultural factors that were critically important and of these factors, Gordy identified the segregation and the civil rights movement, the music and cultural aspects of the black community at that time.
In 1988 Gordy sold Motown Records to MCA and Boston Partners, ending Motown’s era as an independent company. In the post-Gordy era, Motown continued to release hit music by new artists such as Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, alongside veteran performers like Wonder, Ross, and the
"Motown Music - The Sound that Changed America - Motown Museum Home of Hitsville U.S.A.." Motown
Motown Records was founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy who turned his music production company into history’s most successful black-owned record label company.
The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African’s Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping.
...tly, the costumes in this production of Wicked were incredible! There were so many beautiful costumes! Many were very elaborate and detailed, while there were also various simple and elegant costumes. This was extremely refreshing to see as an audience member. The costumes always matched the characters’ emotions, which made the plot go along much smoother. I noticed that in numerous scenes the costumes were the same color as the lighting in the scene. I think the director did this on purpose to emphasize certain moods, but in some cases, a variety of colors would have worked better.
Berry Gordy's "Motown" had the largest impact on music on behalf of its direction and redefinition. Berry Gordy's "Motown" impact music through cutting across divisions of race, region, and class. According to Schloss, Joseph G. et al., "unlike the music of earlier black-owned record companies, Motown's music was not directed primarily at black audiences." Gordy is characterized
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
On March 31 I had the pleasure of seeing Hello Dolly at Mandeville High School. As a talented theater student at the school, I take the shows that are put on very seriously. Being involved in the show, helping make set pieces, and working box office brings light to me as an individual, every little helping hand counts. I want to make sure that my school represents theater in the best way possible. With this production put on, I am proud to say that I am a theater student in Mandeville High.
The play I went to see was The Music Man performed by the Mesa Encore Theatre at the Mesa Community College. I saw this performance on November 20th. The main performers in this play were Zac Bushman as Harold Hill and Lauren Koeritzer as Marian Paroo. Alongside them, a mix of both adults and children as young as 8 acted in this production. The cast and crew used appropriate clothing to match the time and place. Lights were utilized scarcely, with not much more than spotlights or front and back lights. The set was extravagant, cute, and fitting for the setting and time. Overall, this musical was vibrantly performed and left me with positive impressions regarding presentation and production.
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
The costumes ranged from green, purple, orange, pink, white, blue, 50’s style flowy dresses that were knee length to white or brown see through pant suits. Typically, the types of shoes worn by the women were either black, nude, or white ballroom style heels, black jazz flats, or simply barefoot. The men on the other hand wore pants and long sleeve flowy shirts that were typically dull in color and the shoes they wore were either black jazz shoes or no shoes at all. There was one piece in Act I that was very different from the others. There costumes in this piece were all white and no shoes. The women had on full length white dresses with a white head piece that covered over half of their face and no shoes and the man that danced in this piece wore a white long sleeve shirt, white pants, a white beanie hat, and no shoes. During this piece there was candles used as props that the women held while dancing. This was not the only piece that had props. Another piece some women had hand paper fans and the other half had brooms that they danced
The Lion King musical is a well-known musical that has taken the stages of Broadway, West End and the rest of the world by storm (The Lion King, 1997). Regarding the process of the musical, Artistic Director Julie Taymor’s first thoughts for choosing the Lion King as the next big thing on stage, was classed as ‘impossible’ due to the film’s lack of theatrical material (The Lion King, 1997). Therefore, staging this particular work contained a great deal of uncertainty and the need for taking huge risks. Taymor (1997) suggests how ‘the Lion King was the worst idea possible to create a stage show.’ It has become evident that a number of significant barriers had to be overcome to secure the practicality of the production. In view of this controversy, this dissertation will critically analyse the success of the Lion King by exploring two significant aspects that have helped to make the musical a success. Firstly, the essential components that make up this theatrical production will be explored and secondly, the roles of each producer within the Lion King and their combined and individual influences they have had from the production will be evaluated. By analysing these two central themes, this paper will show how and why this musical has developed and achieved its phenomenal success.