Theatre Review: Ain’t Too Proud, Prince Edward Theatre
Photo By: Johan Persson
★★★★
Ain’t Too Proud first opened on Broadway in 2019, and in 2022 it picked up the Tony for Best Musical. It’s transfer to a West End stage hasn’t lost any of that magic. It benefits from a director who has done this before, taken the story of a popular music group and successfully brought it to stage - Des McAnuff who is also responsible for the smash hit that is Jersey Boys.
Our narrator for this story is Otis Williams, the only surviving member of the original Temptations, who also serves as an Executive Producer of the show. He is played with respect, gravitas, and an air of nostalgia that is incredibly moving by Sifiso Mazibuko. What is refreshing to see, especially as Otis Williams is involved, is that it doesn’t paint a revised narrative. It confronts the double-edged sword of fame and the people who suffered because of their choices - especially wives and children. It doesn’t shy away from the time it was set in, where people were fine to hear your music on the radio, but didn’t want Black men in their towns. Happy to consume, not interested in respecting. It is honest, it is emotional, but it’s also a whole lot of fun.
The story is reminiscent of a musical that is heading out on a UK tour from September after a run at the Garrick last year, The Drifters Girl, and one of the stand out performances in Ain’t Too Proud was also part of that run as Ben E King. Tosh Wanogho-Maud shines as the charismatic, energetic, can’t quite be pinned down David Ruffin. He has a sense of comedic timing that is balanced by a raw emotion that means you can’t quite take your eyes off him when he’s on stage.
The cast is made up of a who’s who of Motown-based productions, and the pedigree shows. Alongside Tosh, there’s Cameron Bernard Jones as Melvin “Bluey” Franklin who played the same singer in Motown the Musical, and quite right too because just as Otis said there was no one with bass in their voice like Melvin, there’s no one else who can sing like Cameron does. Also an alum of Motown the Musical is Mitchell Zhangazha in the role of Eddie Kendricks - one of the original line up who went solo before rejoining the group. His voice is like smooth honey, and he brings a cheekiness and charm to the role making him a rather endearing character.
It’s not easy to take on songs people are so familiar with, replicating the sound people know so well whilst also leaving your mark, but every Temptation we see in this journey manages to do just that, but a special shout out has to go to Michael James Stewart as the short lived member of the group Al Bryant, whose vocals in this are simply breathtaking.
There are a few moments that feel clunky, like they’re bigger moments than we get to see in the show, but that is a natural consequence of trying to fit decades of history into a 2 and a half hour show. You don’t become the most successful group in the history of Motown, and one of the most successful popular music groups full stop without enough big moments to fill a 13 part Netflix documentary. But ultimately, this show tried to entertain, give a glimpse behind the curtain, and do it all with slick vocals and smooth moves, and it absolutely hit it’s mark on that.
Ain’t Too Proud is booking until October 1st 2023. Get your tickets now!