Motown

I love me some Motown music.  I have been and forever will be a Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 fan and this show helped me keep that mindset.  This is the story of Berry Gordy and how he started Motown records and how he tried to keep it going despite losing relationships with friends and lovers.  Gordy is a producer for the show and I thought going in that it would make him look like a hero and be more of the standard jukebox show that just features the numbers from the Motown catalogue.  To my pleasant surprise it and he wasn’t.   Yes it did have all the favorite Motown hits but it, but it wasn’t wrapped in fluff.  It was really touching at times and it made me feel good watching it and being a part of the Motown story.

Grade: A-

Peter and the Star Catcher

Peter and the Starcatcher - Bank of America Theatre - Chicago, IL - April 10, 2014

Peter and the Starcatcher – Bank of America Theatre – Chicago, IL – April 10, 2014

I suppose I am in the minority when I say that I didn’t really like this show.  It won five Tony awards, but to me it was predictable.  This is the typical story of Peter Pan that has been told now for over a hundred years.  It is a playful telling that takes objects found in the set of junk and turns it into the story.  I think this is a contrived concept because it has been done so much lately and the objects found are not that far fetched from what they are being used for.  For a show that won 5 Tony’s I expect more imagination and from a show like peter pan I expect all imagination.

The show was overall done well and I do want to take anything from the actors and what they brought to the stage especially John Sanders’ “Oh my God” monologue.  I guess for me I want more when it comes to this show and not found.

Grade: C