DETROIT (AP) β Berry Gordy Jr. took “Motown the Musical” to Broadway and a few other places first. Yet they were mere proving grounds for its date with Detroit.
The musical debuted in Detroit on Wednesday night with a star-studded audience including Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and other vets from the label founded in the city in 1959.
The Motown Records founder says his latest creation has sharpened its storytelling to match the songs, many originally recorded at Hitsville, U.S.A. That’s the former studio right down the street from the Fisher Theatre, the musical’s home through mid-November.
More than 60 songs provide the groove and guideposts for the story chronicling how his empire rose, fell and rose again.
The 84-year-old tells The Associated Press that bringing his musical to Detroit is “the greatest gift.”
