Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman.
That is the message of Michelle Renee Bester’s rollicking new musical “The Real Housewives of Motown,” also directed by Bester, in its world premiere at Black Ensemble Theater. The show follows the trials and tribulations of the four women who were married to the men who helped make Motown great: Claudette Robinson (a member of the Miracles and married to singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson), Josephine Williams (married to The Temptations founder Otis Williams), Mary Agnes Williams (married to Temptations lead singer Paul Williams), and Clineice Stubbs (married to Four Tops lead vocalist Levi Stubbs).
But as this high-spirited show makes abundantly clear, strength alone doesn’t help the four indomitable women get by. Against the odds, they survived and thrived because they had love and faith, and family and friendship. And music. Lots and lots of music — some of the best tunes on the radio in the 1960s and ’70s, all of them written by or made famous by the men they married.
Indeed, one of the strengths of this often-joyous show is how packed it is with great Motown hits. “Get Ready.” “You Really Got a Hold on Me.” “Standing in the Shadows of Love.” “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got.” All are sung with gusto and verve by Bester’s cast of soul-stirring singer-actors and backed by an incomparable four-piece band lead by Adam Sherrod.
The show overall boasts a remarkable cast of “triple threats,” equally adept at singing, dancing and acting. As Mary Agnes Williams, De’jah Perkins’ powerful vocals were in fine form during her solo amid an ensemble turn on “Heard it Through the Grapevine.” She later had the audience in the palm of her hand, belting out the gospel classic “Grateful,” expressing deep sadness and resigned acceptance after the suicide, late in the show, of her famous husband, Paul Williams. Britt Edward’s voice shook the rafters during a heartfelt duet with RJ Griffith (as Smokey Robinson) on “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” a song that spoke volumes about their passionate but flawed marriage.
The show also contains spot-on recreations of classic performances by the Four Tops and the Temptations, complete with their fabulous matching suits and synchronized cool moves (kudos to choreographer Reneisha Jenkins). Naphtali Curry slays as the talented but fatally flawed Paul Williams, singing and dancing through a pitch-perfect rendition of “(I Know) I’m Losing You.”
But music alone does not make for a fully satisfying stage musical. The non-musical part of the show simply does not rise to the level of the songs. Instead, we’re presented with a series of interesting but disconnected vignettes, quick glimpses into the lives of the four women at the heart of this show. Bester further fragments her story with short, videotaped segments in which the characters simply comment on their lives.
There are some emotionally charged moments, as when Claudette unleashes her anguish at carrying a child for six months only to miscarry. But they are too few and far between.
Bester has a lot of rich material here: Being the wife of a Motown star was apparently never easy. Mary Agnes Williams’ husband Paul was an alcoholic. Claudette Robinson tried to balance performing on the road with the Miracles (alongside Smokey) with starting a family and suffering eight miscarriages. All of the women had to deal with loneliness while their husbands put in long hours — on the road and in the studio — for their hard-driving boss, legendary Motown founder Barry Gordy. Josephine Williams, Mary Agnes Williams and Clineice Stubbs were resigned to essentially running households and raising their children alone.
With such an embarrassment of dramatic riches, the life story of any one of these amazing women could make for a great musical. Having four incredibly strong story arcs vying for our attention is at times overwhelming.
Still, there is that incomparable Motown music. Whenever the spoken scenes sag, the incomparable music shines brightly, and we are reminded why Motown matters. And why the stories of these fiercely strong women matter, too.
