Ain’t Too Proud review: The Temptations musical frustrates with its frenetic style
But the cast radiates exuberance and lots of boxes are ticked, writes Simon Button
By Simon Button
Based on the many rises, falls and rises again of The Temptations, Ain’t Too Proud is a musical with an attention span problem. With founder member and sole survivor Otis Williams (Sifiso Mazibuko, radiating charisma) guiding us through the story, it doesn’t feature a single signature song that isn’t interrupted by narration or dialogue.
Just as the cast get into the groove of numbers like ‘Get Ready’, ‘I Can’t Get Next To You’, ‘Ball of Confusion’ or ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’ they’re forced to halt for some exposition. The result is the musical equivalent of coitus interruptus and it makes what could have been a great show, propelled by the brilliance of its soundtrack, into a frustrating one.
This isn’t a jukebox musical per se, into which the band’s songs are shoehorned to tell a fanciful Mamma Mia!-style tale. It’s their true-life saga, with the music used in context and mostly in chronological order. So we go from Otis and his pals’ early days singing on the streets of Detroit to frustrations with their first manager, landing a contract with Motown, topping the charts with what came to be known as The Classic Temps line-up, then bust-ups and line-up changes. As Otis drolly points out, at some stages in the life of a band that’s still going, ‘Temps’ could easily have stood for ‘temporary’.
The storytelling style is one that served director Des McAnuff brilliantly on Jersey Boys but not so much here. Whereas that show has plenty of songs that play out in their entirety, this one is all fits and starts and some odd decisions. We hear them singing the bulk of ‘My Girl’ before its writer Smokey Robinson has even presented them with it. And there’s a number with The Supremes (who actually sound nothing like The Supremes) that’s ruined by a trio of on-stage cameramen who keep getting in the way.
Despite these shortcomings, though, Ain’t Too Proud has plenty to recommend it. The leads radiate exuberance and execute choreographer Sergio Trujillo’s slick moves with awesome flair. Powerhouse vocals? Tick. Big sets? Tick. Eye-popping costumes? Tick. Clever staging? Tick, especially the travelator that amusingly whisks singers off stage when their tenure with The Temptations is over.
I wish more was made of the group’s success as arguably the greatest R&B band of their heyday. Facts like them winning “a few more Grammys” are casually mentioned. And why do they celebrate ‘My Girl’ entering the US charts at number one when in reality it took a while to reach the pinnacle?
Writer Dominique Morisseau seems more concerned with behind-the-scenes dramas but at least she has plenty to go at. Drink, drugs, racism, tempers, egos, affairs, illness and devastating family losses are all part of a story that’s well worth telling – even if the end result is more a ball of confusion than it needs to be.