Five Guys. One Dream. And a Sound That Would Make Music History. Ain’t To Proud is the electrifying new musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and so many more.
“Dazzling & electrifying!” – The Washington Post
“Pretty close to perfection!” – The New York Times
“Stunning and full of energy.” – The Daily Beast
With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, The Temptations rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits, with 14 coming out at number one. From how they met modest success under the Motown banner, followed with brief nods to touring in the segregated South, to the assassination of Martin Luther King and the Vietnam protests, to the groundbreaking heights they hit. How personal and political conflicts mixed with the drugs, women, fame, and alcohol threatened to tear the group apart as the United States fell into civil unrest. If there’s one theme that does emerge as one singer after another is fired, dies or is replaced by a sound-alike, it’s that the success of the group was never about the uniqueness of the 20-plus terrific but interchangeable vocalists who have been part of the group over the years. I’s all about their blend and their music.
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations broke house records at each of the theatres it played before Broadway, starting at its premier at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, in August 2017. Following its run at Berkeley Rep, the show moved to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC where it ran from June 2018, it then moved to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California running from August 2018, and finally it ran at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Ontario from October 2018, until it moved onto Broadway in March 2019 at the Imperial Theatre. The Broadway production was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, but only took home one for Best Choreography, the show was also nominated for one Drama Desk Award, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Drama League Awards, and the Grammy Award for the Musical Theatre Album, but subsequently only won a Broadway Audience Award.
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations, the story is based on the story of The Temptations. Ain’t Too Proud, was written by three-time Obie Award winner Dominique Morisseau, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, and featuring choreography by the now Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo, it brings the untold story of this legendary quintet to irresistible life on Broadway.
“It makes for slick, straightforward, tuneful and altogether pleasant entertainment.” – amNY
Review by David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway.
“There’s some overlap here with 2015’s Motown: The Musical, which covered a broader swath of the legendary hit factory’s history. But this is the superior show, less pedestrian in its storytelling, if not without its own limitations. Those lie primarily in the workmanlike book, which settles on the memoir of Otis Williams, the Temptations’ last surviving founding member, as its sole source. It also tries for such exhaustive detail that the narration almost literally never stops, while somehow making commercial success seem the easy part.”