Cue lonely teardrops. The Broadway return of Motown the Musical will end its limited engagement early. The jukebox musical will play its final performance at the Nederlander Theatre on July 31, marking the end of the show's first national tour. Performances began on July 12 and were scheduled to run through November 13.
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright and featuring a book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown highlights over 50 hits from the record company’s catalogue. The show tells the story of Gordy's rise from small-town dreamer to record mogul. Along the way, he discovers a slew of musical talent, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, with whom he sparks a romance.
The current production features Chester Gregory as Berry Gordy, Allison Semmes as Diana Ross, Jesse Nager as Smokey Robinson and Jarran Muse as Marvin Gaye. Rounding out the company are J.J. Batteast, Leon Outlaw Jr., Nik Alexander, Erick Buckley, Chante Carmel, Chadaé, Lynorris Evans, Anissa Felix, Talya Groves, Rod Harrelson, Robert Hartwell, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., Trisha Jeffrey, Jamie LaVerdiere, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Loren Lott, Jarvis B. Manning Jr., Krisha Marcano, Marq Moss, Rashad Naylor, Ramone Owens, Olivia Puckett, Nicholas Ryan, Jamison Scott, Joey Stone, Doug Storm, Martina Sykes, Nik Walker and Galen J. Williams.