‘Get Ready’ to dance with ‘Motown’ musical

If you’re a Motown fan, you usually have a Motown story, and Darryl Archibald has heard plenty of them.

As the musical director and conductor for the recent Broadway hits parade, "Motown: The Musical," Archibald also knows that fans of the Berry Gordy-shepherded songs have certain expectations from the show.

“These are characters and music that people grew up with,” he said in a recent phone chat while the production was stationed in Dallas. “When I’m in the (orchestra) pit, a lot of people come up to tell me about how their sister used to work for so-and-so and I did so-and-so’s hair. Everybody knows this music and people talk about how (the show) allowed them to relive their entire childhood.”

The jukebox musical, which features an astounding 66 songs (many of them snippets or partial versions, otherwise this would be a 14-hour production), sets up at the Fox Theatre Aug. 18-23.

It’s the debut showing in Atlanta for “Motown,” which features a book by Gordy and chronicles his founding of Motown Records and the ensuing relationships established with his interstellar stable of stars, including Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

While the show, which was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2013, is anchored by songs including “My Girl,” “What’s Going On,” “ABC” and “Love Child,” the expository angle doesn’t scrimp on history.

The Vietnam War, the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, the racism faced by performers traveling through the South in the 1960s — all are represented.

“You have these markers in time where this iconic music was around,” Archibald said. “A thing in the show that’s really powerful — but wasn’t planned — with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement now … there’s a moment where Marvin (Gaye) is listening to one of his songs and Berry tells him, ‘We can’t release that because the lyrics refer to trigger-happy policing.’ You feel the reaction from the audience at that line. They were dealing with these same kinds of issues back then and you’re thinking, what’s changed?”

Running parallel to the historical themes in “Motown” is, of course, the music.

Archibald cites “Get Ready,” “Dancing in the Streets,” “What’s Going On” and “War” as a handful of the “don’t miss” musical numbers in the show, and also suggests that theatergoers with a propensity for scooting home after Act 1 stick around.

“If you miss any part of Act 2, you’ll definitely be sorry, because you’ll miss some of the real iconic moments in Motown history with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson,” he said. “This is another show that’s kind of interactive, but not on purpose. But people get that feeling that they should just shout out. When young Michael Jackson comes out, people will yell, ‘We love you, Michael!’ And when Diana Ross does ‘Reach Out and Touch,’ people really get that flashback.”

The show carries a cast that numbers in the 30s, and many of them apply their talents to portray several musical icons.

Young Nathaniel Cullors pulls triple duty as the adolescent Jackson, Wonder and Gordy; likewise, Elijah Ahmad Lewis starts the show as the lead Four Top, then becomes one of Robinson’s Miracles and later portrays the adult Wonder.

“It’s very demanding on the cast vocally,” said Archibald, whose resume includes work on “Memphis,” “Wicked,” “Dreamgirls” and “The Lion King.” “We’re trying not to be like ‘Legends in Concert’ in Las Vegas, but you want to have the representation of these performers.”

Since “Motown” closed on Broadway in January after a close to two-year run, some of that pedigreed cast is now part of the touring production.

Allison Semmes played Florence Ballard in New York, but now owns a spotlight role as Ross; Josh Tower, the final Gordy on Broadway, reprises his portrayal; Jesse Nager, who represented Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, is the current Robinson; and Jarran Muse, a swing player in the Broadway cast, portrays Gaye.

The national tour globe-trots through 2016 — a West End production in London opens in February — and there is a tentative plan for the show to return to Broadway next summer.

The director of “Motown,” Charles Randolph-Wright, will stay busy prepping the musical for its overseas debut, and also readying “Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story,” which will open at the Alliance Theatre in April.

Despite other productions and distractions, though, “Motown” remains “everybody’s baby,” Archibald said.

“To work with Berry Gordy, he’s very hands-on, which is a wonderful thing. There is nothing, in my opinion, that will top this experience.”