Ain’t Too Proud

Reviewed by Katie Buenneke
Center Theatre Group
Through September 30

The two trickiest types of musical, to this critic’s mind at least, are the bio-musical and the jukebox musical. The former ties musicals, often a fanciful form, to rote biographical facts, while the latter often requires the show’s cast and creative team to impart significance to songs that might not be able to carry the meaning they’re meant to support.

Now playing at the Ahmanson, Ain’t Too Proud, like Jersey Boys, Motown, Beautiful, and On Your Feet, its predecessors, is both a bio-musical and a jukebox musical (Beautiful and On Your Feet are, oddly enough, also part of the Pantages’ season). Subtitled “The Life and Times of the Temptations,” this new work draws from the musical catalogue of one of the most famous Motown groups ever, and frames it from the perspective of Otis Williams (Derrick Baskin), the most senior member and the only surviving singer from the original quintet.

The story tracks the group from its inception, when Otis and his friends were still schoolboys, through the tumultuous times in the 60s and 70s, to the deaths of the other four founding members. A caveat here: David Ruffin (Ephraim Sykes), Melvin Franklin (Jawan M. Jackson), Paul Williams (James Harkness), Eddie Kendricks (Jeremy Pope), and Otis are kind of the original Temptations, but (as Otis tells the audience) the Temps often stood for “temporary” — members cycled in and out of the group throughout its history, and in Ain’t Too Proud we see eight Temptations take the stage. Given the show’s brisk pace and the necessity of compressing time and events, it can occasionally be tricky keeping track of the different characters and who’s in the group at any given time. Still. the cast and the book’s writer, Dominique Morisseau, do a commendable job of making each individual distinct, which is particularly important when many actors are playing multiple characters.

The musical numbers are the highlight of the show: they’re performed with such vivacity that you have to wonder how these guys do this eight times a week, twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays. At Friday’s opening, the show’s fourth performance before an audience in L.A., this was a particularly pressing concern, as Mr. Sykes, who plays David Ruffin (a demanding role both physically and vocally), seemed to be losing his voice towards the end of Act 1. Despite that event, these performers seem to be an unstoppable force, whirling from song to song, giving each number 100%.

The show’s pacing is curious. Especially in the first act, it often feels as if we’re being rushed from number to number, with small interstitial explanations of their context. Then, in Act 2, as life starts to catch up with the Temptations and we move out of the era of their hugest hits, we get more scenes and fewer songs. As noted above, some of these songs shoulder more dramatic weight than they can carry. The tone is also occasionally perplexing; for example, a moment where a group of people are freebasing an unspecified drug (including one person who, a few scenes later, dies of an overdose) is played for laughs.

The design elements are all impeccable; Robert Britt’s sets are beautiful, versatile, and use vertical space effectively, while Paul Tazewell’s costumes are sharp, and Howell Binkley’s lighting imparts just the right amount of dramatic shading. Peter Nigrini’s projections contextualize the story historically without being overbearing, and add a lot in a subtle way. Unfortunately, the musical’s overall effect is muddled by a flat sound design, so that neither the dialogue nor the vocals nor the instrumentals impact as much as they need to.

Under Des McAnuff’s direction, Ain’t Too Proud is so stylish and the musical numbers are so good that you can’t help but want to get swept away by the story and its outstanding performers. But the production’s uneven pacing and tone keep it from being as good as the music it’s built around.

The Ahmanson, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sun., 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; through Sep. 30. CenterTheatreGroup.org. Running time: two and a half hours with a 20-minute intermission.