Ain’t Too Proud ★★★★ Prince Edward Theatre | Mar 31, 2023 - Jan 7, 2024


This tribute show celebrates the career of The Temptations. The super-successful Motown group of the 1960s and 70s has had lots of member changes, but it's still going on today. The big hits like "My Girl," "If You Don't Know Me By Now" and "Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone" are all here, and if you remember and love this music, this is the show for you. The cast do an amazing job of presenting the songs and the choreography of Sergio Trujillo is quite stunning. It's almost non-stop action, and the athleticism displayed is absolutely astounding. However, neither the lives of the band members, nor of the band itself, turned out to be as smooth as the group's moves on stage. The narrative based on the book of Otis Williams (Sifiso Mazibuko) is a familiar tale of battling egos, cheating agents and drug and alcohol abuse. Broken friendships and ruptured relationships are the substance of the backstage stories, and it's pretty much what we have come to expect from music industry biographies. But if it all seems almost a cliché, this evening is elevated by some extraordinary performances. The terrific cast includes Cameron Bernard Jones as Melvin Franklin, Kyle Cox as Paul Williams, Tosh Wanogho-Maud as David Ruffin, Mitchell Zhangazha as Eddie Kendricks and Posi Morakinyo as Dennis Edwards. When we went we enjoyed Matt Manuel in the role of Ruffin. This is a story about how The Temptations found themselves in performing, and how ultimately the music would transcend some painful personal stories. Any audience is bound to go home humming!

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Johan Persson.

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When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: Old Compton St, London W1D 4HS, UK

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