Motown the Musical is based off the story of Berry Gordy and his record label. Gordy created a music making machine that included of outside sources to prepare his artists for life in the limelight. The musical tells the story of Gordy’s experience with major Motown artists and their journeys against discrimination and their fight to fame. Many famous Motown songs from many different artists are mashed up in order to add as much of the music culture to the musical.
In the promotional video, we can see the passion of the actors and actresses even though they are not the original artists. This passion was universal throughout the Motown world, and is present in the show. Motown is revolutionary in that it brought together black and white audiences simply from the affinity of certain beats, rhythms, harmonies, and vocal talents. Some criticized the writer of the show saying that characters moved in and out of the story line too fast, preventing audiences from connecting with them. However the writer wanted to capture Gordon’s full experience with every iconic Motown record in order to make the story more alive and attractive.
This musical captures the essence of the phenomena of Motown. By breaking down barriers through something as universal as music, this industry started a sense of change in the United States.
