Midland Center Showcases the Iconic Artistry of The Temptations May 20-22nd

Without doubt the music created within the walls of the Motown studios at Hitsville, USA in Detroit and went on to emanate around the world formed a harmonic backdrop that not only united black and white along with young and old during the tumultuous times of the 1960s, but also set a bar for creativity and inventiveness that has never been surpassed.

Audiences will now have an opportunity to experience the inspirational birth of that remarkable period as Midland Center for the Arts welcomes the Broadway Touring company of the Grammy and Tony award-winning musical Aint’ Too Proud • The Life & Times of The Temptations  for a series of performances running May 20-21-22 at 7:30 PM.

This electrifying musical follows the legendary musical group The Temptations, who were voted the Greatest R&B group of all time by Billboard Magazine, as they begin their extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit all the way to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.   With signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, this amazing musical combo repeatedly rose to the top of the charts, creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 of them reaching number one.

The rest is history — how they met, the groundbreaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and so many more.

Opening on Broadway back in 2019, Ain’t Too Proud went on to be nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, brings this incredible true story of the greatest R&B group of all time to the stage with a Tony Award nominated book by Dominique Morisseau, and is also directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, with Tony Award-winning choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

Formed in Detroit back in 1961, The Temptations created a string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The group members were known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.

Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group's founding members consisted of Otis Williams, Al Bryant, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. In 1964 Bryant was replaced with David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including "My Girl" (1964), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1966), and "I Wish It Would Rain" (1967). Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" (1968), "I Can't Get Next to You" (1969), and "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (1970). Kendricks and Paul Williams both left the group in 1971.

Based on the  book ‘The Temptations’ by Otis Williams, this powerful musical features actor Lowes Moore in the role of Eddie Kendricks, who is also making his national tour debut with this production.  Recently I had the opportunity to discuss the many elements that make this seminal group and equally explosive musical production so extraordinary and groundbreaking.

REVIEW: Tell us a bit about your background and how you happened to secure this pivotal role?

Lowes Moore:  I was born in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from  Occidental College in Los Angeles. After graduation I went into film and television around the time the actors strike happened, so I moved back to New York and joined a group called Boy Band Evolution. We sang on cruise ships and would do songs by The Temptations, Backstreet Boys, Jersey Boys, and we went through the whole canon of material from top-notch vocal groups.

While we were on a little break, one of the guys from our group sent me a message saying auditions were going on for the role of Eddie Kendricks in Ain’t Too Proud and he thought I might be a good fit for the part. I sent a tape in and got a call back for final auditions and secured the role. But if he hadn’t sent me that message, I never would have auditioned

REVIEW: What do you feel distinguishes this biographical theatrical musical from other successful musicals that focus on iconic pop stars?

Moore:  This show is about one of the most iconic groups to ever exist. The things that The Temptations are known for - their harmonies, their dance moves, and all those incredible hit songs - when people here them they instantly recognize them. Sometimes people don’t realize how much Temptation music they actually do know until they get to the show, and I feel all these elements make this show a unique experience.

REVIEW: Eddie Kendricks was such a pivotal member of The Temptations, singing lead vocals on so many of their hits. What’s the most challenging component involved with stepping into that role?

Moore: I think Eddie is a very fiery character and the thing about him is he truly loves his brothers in the group very deeply. What I like to sink my teeth into is to make sure that love that he possesses come through every night I’m on the stage.

The group had many challenges and Eddie doesn’t want to see this group fall apart, so he’s doing all he can to hold the classic five together. 

The challenge is to show that deep love coming through hi character, even during the in-group fighting. The Temptations were dealing with similar things that a lot of artists deal with - being away from one’s home and family, the influences of drugs coupled with the tumultuous political climate of those times with the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam.

REVIEW: When you look at the arc of the group’s career and evolution of their music, what is it about their dynamics and chemistry that allowed them to carve such a unique level accomplishment with their work?

Moore: The Temptations wrote and performed music for every occasion. Not only did they create happy and heartbreaking songs about love, but were also performing songs about political things that actually matter like Ball of Confusion.

They wanted to be artists and go deeper than creating mere pop music. They wanted to dig deep into the culture, which I think is the reason why the group existed as long as they did. Otis Williams had a vision for this group and wanted to see them keep going.  All told in their various incarnations they had 27 members over the expanse of time.  This was both his dream and his legacy.

REVIEW: The Temptations were such a demanding group both musically and physically with all their dance moves. Doing hundreds of shows do you find this role to be physically challenging or difficult to perform night-after night?

Moore: Our choreographer Sergio Trujillo won a Tony award for his work and I think he did a great job digging the group’s archive and finding all those subtle movements that ready make their dancing stand out. Sergio brings that out throughout the entire show - it’s very intricate choreography but definitely helps convey the story being delivered through the music.

As for the physical challenge, it definitely requires stamina but I wouldn’t that that I find it tiring. Once you get on the stage and know what they show requires it takes energy, but at the end of the show I feel more fulfilled than tired. Obviously, one needs to recuperate and rest, but there isn’t a sense of fatigue. It’s one of honor telling The Temptations’ story.

REVIEW: There was a ot of collaboration that went down at Motown with other legendary groups. Do you get a strong sense of that in this production?

Moore: While this play obviously focuses on The Temptations, it does get into a bit of their collaboration with Smokey Robinson, who was one of their writers, along with Al Norman, who became a huge writer. We also see a little of The Supremes, who formed a big connection in terms of driving The Temps to achieve a higher level of success because they were out before The Tempttions got real big, so kind of formed a blueprint for the group and put fire in their belly to achieve that same level of success.  Both groups inspired one another to be more competitive and creative.

The cool part of all this is every actor in their respective roles with this production also shares that similar chemistry. As an individual I get to play Eddie Kendricks, who was known for his beautiful rich and high tenor voice, which came naturally to me.  My sister also sang and we both sang in church while we were growing up. I think every one of the cast members has a similar story in terms of how they fit into these roles musically.

Because everybody works so hard individually is the reason this production works so well collectively.  Every performance we do people end up standing, screaming, and singing along, so it’s really exciting to fire people up like that every night.

Ain’t Too Proud: The Life & Times of The Temptations will run from Tuesday through Thursday, May 20-21-22 at Midland Center for the Arts, 1801 W. St. Andrews Road.  Showtimes are 7:30 PM and tickets are available by clicking this link.