Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsMember Reviews (1,018)
See it if Another ho hum jukebox musical . Great sets some great singing and dancing.
Don't see it if Story plot is weak and banal. Costant motion that stands still.
See it if You want a high energy, entertaining way to learn about The Temptations. If you liked Jersey Boys you’ll probably like this.
Don't see it if You hate jukebox musicals, this is about as typical as they come...”First we did this...sing a song...then we did that...sing another song”. Read more
See it if you'd enjoy the story of the group ups & downs from the start to their topping the charts with great choreography and a fantastic orchestra.
Don't see it if you do not enjoy the music they produced or do not care to learn the hardships they endured.
See it if You like the Temptations, Motown, history of R&B, great dance moves, inner workings of a music group, dynamic presentation, true stories
Don't see it if You’re not a fan of the Temptations, R&B music, Motown music, loud sound & bright moving lights, superficial historical plots
See it if 2 see super-slick, high energy choreography mated to the Temp's iconic hits; appreciate how racial environment affected group
Don't see it if biopicish: conventional story of group's rise/fall; tho performers are strong singers, there's no way you'll confuse them w the originals Read more
See it if you would like an entertaining and often moving story of the group The Temptations. I knew their music and now I know more about them.
Don't see it if you do not like The Temptations or their music or any Motown music. Read more
See it if you like the Motown sound & want to see spectacular performers recreate the sounds & moves of The Temps (& to a lesser degree The Supremes).
Don't see it if u hope for a musical w/heart, depth or an unbiased POV; u might get motion sickness from the set pieces & projections that NEVER STOP MOVING Read more
See it if So so good. The dancing is even better than the singing. A fabulous tale re: the music industry. Huge amount of talent. ALSO
Don't see it if Sorry that we missed Jeremy Pope. Read more
Critic Reviews (50)
"Shrewd direction of Des McAnuff, with sensational choreography by Sergio Trujillo...While honoring all the expected biomusical clichés, which include rolling out its subjects’ greatest hits in brisk and sometimes too fragmented succession, this production refreshingly emphasizes the improbable triumph of rough, combustible parts assembled into glistening smoothness...As for the performance of those songs...they’re pretty close to perfection."
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"No matter how much you may chafe at the clunky machinery of Broadway’s latest jukebox biomusical, 'Ain’t Too Proud,' the hits just keep coming, distracting your critical faculties with zaps of R&B greatness...The problem with telling the story of the Temptations is that there isn’t a clear central story to tell...As musical theater, 'Ain’t Too Proud' could generously be described as shameless. But as an evening of musical entertainment, it ain’t too shabby."
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"While the tunes themselves are predictably wonderful and the cast’s voices ravishing, 'Ain’t Too Proud' itself has no real arc or engine...Dominique Morisseau’s book has moments of wit, but it’s also got plenty of corny clunkers and ultimately feels like a scroll through the band’s Wikipedia page...'Ain’t Too Proud' is certainly beautiful to look at...The show often sounds great too. But underneath its sparkle is a theatrical monotony that drags the whole thing down."
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"Sure, there are craft issues with a show that's more narrated than dramatized...But as a fan experience, this high-energy tribute delivers big time...Propulsively directed by bio-musical specialist Des McAnuff...The briskly paced production frequently generates the excitement of a terrific concert...Even if Morisseau doesn't dodge showbiz clichés about fame and fulfillment not always going hand in hand, her book recounts the group's ups and downs with clarity and emotional involvement."
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"What makes 'Beg' memorable is the sheer overwhelming talent of the cast. Even if no one character has enough time or space in the script to fill in the contours of a full personality beyond a few fast details they can still bring every sweet harmony and cross-step...It’s hard to feel the real impact of those losses in a show that has to cover so much ground...But it’s also hard to remember a closing as joyful as the one 'Beg' builds to."
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"More 'Summer'-conventional than 'Jersey Boys'-fresh. But polished performances, slick choreography and a slate of 31 Motown tunes should satisfy audiences who might not be looking for probing storytelling, as long as the show delivers well-performed hits. That it does...The script delivers clichés and melodrama...At least things don’t drag, thanks to McAnuff’s fast-paced direction."
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"The score is terrific, as are the singing and pit band, but Sergio Trujillo’s choreography is way too slick—the real-life Temptations moved like street-corner kids from Detroit, not glammed-up 42nd Street gypsies—and the projection-heavy set design is ploddingly dull...'Ain’t Too Proud' ends up feeling more like a concert with narration than a full-fledged musical, with results that are dramatically static and banal without limit."
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"'Ain’t Too Proud' mostly accomplishes what so many of the lesser examples of this genre haven’t – a fine cast performs beloved songs, performs them well enough to conjure and honor the people they’re playing and the songs they’re singing, and adds enough Broadway dazzle...That the deaths carry little dramatic punch is no fault of the primary cast, each of whom is given little more than a trait or two in place of a fully developed character."
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