They were the first Motown group to win a Grammy in 1969 and they went on to win a few more. Their songs invariably rose high in the charts with four, starting with My Girl, reaching number one. The show is built around their greatest hits: who doesn't remember Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) or Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, for example?
How all this came about and how the transition from street to fame and riches inexorably changed the lives of a group of young black men in Detroit is the subject of Ain’t Too Proud, the jukebox musical based on the autobiography of Otis Williams, the founder and last surviving member of the original Temptations.
Ain't Too Proud The Company. Photo: Johan Persson
The Williams character, played with charm and a fine tenor by Sifiso Mazibuko (Hamilton, Motown The Musical), narrates, leading the audience through the story, with sterling support from powerful bass Cameron Bernard Jones as Melvin Franklin, Rosh Wanogho-Maud as lead tenor David Ruffin, Mitchel Zhangazha as tenor Eddie Kendricks and Kyle Cox as baritone Paul Williams – all great movers, all in superb voice.
As fame takes hold, so friendship becomes confrontation, egos are inflated and the trappings of high life take hold. David Ruffin may have been the star – Tosh Wanogho-Maud makes him a charismatic performer, yet a venal man and a wife-beater – but Williams sacks him for unreliable behaviour partly caused by a growing cocaine addiction.
Paul Williams, a gentle but weak man, becomes an alcoholic; Eddie leaves the group to pursue a solo career, following a disagreement with Williams. As for Williams, the pressure of constant touring fatally fractured his relationship with his first-born son.
A reunion tour is vibrant, but short-lived. One by one the original Temptations disappear in tragic circumstances – yet The Temptations live on: to this day, Williams notes in the epilogue, there have been 27 Temptations.
Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway won a Tony award (it had 12 nominations) for Sergio Trujillo’s glorious choreography, which remains faithful to the original 60s style while injecting a very modern energy into the moves.
Dominique Morisseau’s book is serviceable, and it’s hard to see how else he could tell the story, though the device of having Williams as a narrator is occasionally a little plodding. Two-time Tony winner Des McAnuff directs with flair.
Robert Brill’s scenic design, relying predominantly on monochrome urban sets is hugely effective, and one final word of unstinting praise must go to the superb orchestra that remains hidden throughout the show, but is finally revealed and gets its moment in the limelight in the sparkling finale.
Ain't Too Proud the Company. Photo Johan Persson
Ain't Too Proud is now booking until Sunday 1 October.
Click here to book.
| What | Ain't Too Proud review |
| Where | Prince Edward Theatre, Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4HS | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Leicester Square (underground) |
| When |
20 Apr 23 – 31 Jan 24, Tues to Sat at 19:30 mats Thu & Sat at 14:30. Sun at 15:00 Dur.: 2 hours 40 mins inc one interval |
| Price | £25-£90 |
| Website | Click here to book |
