Carl Brown will play Smokey Robinson in the London production of Motown the Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre
Charl Brown (Smokey Robinson) and Sifiso Mazibuko (Marvin Gaye) join the previously announced Cedric Neal (Berry Gordy) and Lucy St. Louis (Diana Ross) in the West End production of Motown the Musical. With music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and book by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Motown the Musical is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. London previews at the Shaftesbury Theatre will begin on 11 February 2016, with press night on 8 March 2016, with the show booking to 22 October 2016. Earlier this week it was announced that Motown the Musical will return to Broadway for an 18-week run in July next year.
Joining Charl Brown, Sifiso Mazibuko, Cedric Neal and Lucy St. Louis are Keisha Amponsa Banson (Mary Wells), Cindy Belliot (Anna Gordy), Samuel Edwards (Jackie Wilson), Portia Harry (Teena Marie), Aisha Jawando (Martha Reeves), Joshua Liburd (Eddie Kendricks), Simeon Montague (Jermaine Jackson), Cleopatra Rey (Gladys Knight), Brandon Lee Sears (Tito Jackson), Jordan Shaw (Stevie Wonder), Cherelle Williams (Mary Wilson) and 12-year-old Eshan Gopal from Kingsbury, London, 13-year-old Kwame Kandekore from Leicester and 11-year-old Joshua Tikare from Bromley who will alternate the role of Young Michael Jackson.
They are joined by swings and ensemble members Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Tanya Nicole Edwards, Eddie Elliott, Christopher Fry, Alex Hammond, Edward Handoll, Simon Ray Harvey, Elias Hendricks, Brian James Leys, Jayde Nelson, Simone Mistry Palmer, Carl Spencer and Marcel J Whyte. Final casting will be announced shortly.
Charl Brown’s previous portrayal of Smokey Robinson in the Broadway production of Motown the Musical earned him a 2013 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His earlier theatre credits include the role of Hud on the European Tour of Hair, Jersey Boys on Broadway and in Las Vegas and the Off-Broadway production of Walmartopia. Brown’s Broadway debut in 2011 was in the original cast of Sister Act. Brown is currently travelling across the United States with his group The Doowop Project.
Sifiso Mazibuko’s (Marvin Gaye) UK theatre credits include The Tempest for Flute Theatre, A Land Without People and The First Actress for Palindrome Productions, Hector at The Courtyard Theatre and Dancers performed in both London and New York. His American theatre credits include the theatre is a blank page produced by Anne Bogart, Ann Hamilton and the SITI company. Mazibuko also performed in Shaka Zulu the Musical at the State Theatre in South Africa, was part of the Asian Tour of African Footprint and was in Dreamgirls the Musical in South Africa. His film credits include Pretville.
Tony nominated Motown the Musical received its world premiere in April 2013 in New York at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and recouped its $18 million investment by the end of 2014. The first US national tour opened last spring in Chicago, grossing $20 million during its 16-week run, and continues to play across America.
Motown the Musical has music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Cook, dance arrangements by Zane Mark and music direction by Gareth Weedon. Choreography is by Patricia Wilcox and Warren Adams, scenic design by David Korins, costumes by Esosa, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Peter Hylenski and projections by Daniel Brodie. Motown the Musical will be produced in the West End by Kevin McCollum, Doug Morris, Berry Gordy and Adam Spiegel.
Sifiso Mazibuko plays Marvin Gaye
Berry Gordy is the founder of Motown, the enterprise that nurtured the careers of, amongst others, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 and more. Gordy is also a songwriter, producer, director, boxer, innovative entrepreneur and teacher. Actively involved in the Civil Rights movement, he also released the recorded speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Pioneer Award, the Grammy Salute To Industry Icon’s President’s Merit Award and was honoured by President Barack Obama with a Salute to Motown evening at the White House.
Charles Randolph-Wright is a director, writer and producer for theatre, film, and television. His theatre directing credits include Motown the Musical on Broadway and the US tour, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined and Sophisticated Ladies at Arena Stage where he is an inaugural resident playwright, the 75th Anniversary international tour of Porgy and Bess, Love/Life at Lincoln Center with Brian Stokes Mitchell, the national tour of Guys and Dolls, They’re Playing Our Song in Brazil in Portuguese, and most recently, the world premiere of Akeelah and the Bee. Randolph-Wright wrote the plays Blue, The Night s A Child, Cuttin’ Up, Love in Afghanistan, and co-wrote Just Between Friends – Bea Arthur on Broadway. He directed the award-winning film Preaching to the Choir, and has written screenplays for HBO, Showtime, Disney and Fox.
Book Tickets for Motown the Musical: www.musicaltheatrereview.entstix.com/tickets/motown-the-musical
Readers may also be interested in:
Motown the Musical – Cedric Neal and Lucy St. Louis lead cast – News
Motown the Musical – Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York – Review
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