SAN DIEGO — It’s not just your imagination, Broadway in San Diego has done it again. Ain’t Too Proud, a musical about the life and times of R&B group The Temptations has come to San Diego. Playing through January 8, this show will have you clapping and singing along whether you want to or not. Against the backdrop of chart-topping hits like For Once In My Life; Since I lost My Baby; My Girl; The Way You Do The Things You Do, and of course the title song Ain’t Too Proud To Beg, the story of the Temptations’ rise to fame and the cost to their personal lives is narrated by the last surviving original member, Otis Williams, played by Michael Andreas.
Before seeing the show, I didn’t know that The Temptations has a rotating group of singers- in fact since the beginning there have been 25 members of The Temptations, ensuring that the music and the group live on and continue to perform long after the original members have passed or moved on. We learned about the personal sacrifices the original members had to make, in terms of relationships and family. We learned about their struggles with fame and the dubious benefits that come with it- especially women, drink and drugs. And even as your heart is breaking, the music keeps you moving and singing along.
This was a really large cast, but several performers really stood out. Elijah Ahmad Lewis as David Ruffin was a ball of energy who lit up the stage every time he entered. He really embodied showman Ruffin. Shayla Brielle G. knocked it out of the park playing several roles including Mama Rose, Tammi Terrell, as well as being a part of the ensemble. Harrell Holmes Jr’s deep voice thrilled the audience as Melvin “Blue” Franklin. And, of course, Andreas carried the show as Williams.
The sets were clever as well. Much use was made of projection and digital screens to change the backdrop and marquee signs as they “traveled” to various theatres. Period props like a phone booth, a Cadillac, and a barbeque were seemingly magically brought on and off the stage for short bits. They made really creative use of some sort of automatic moving system that sent the props on and off the stage without people manning them. It was pretty cool and somewhat mesmerizing.
Having seen so many different performances at the Civic with different parts of “moving stage” I can’t help but wonder what the actual stage floor looks like to be able to accommodate such mechanisms. The giant rotating stage from Hamilton for example comes to mind.
Now I know you’re wondering about the Jewish angle, and I’ll be honest, I went into this one thinking that there really wouldn’t be much of one. However, I was surprised. Shortly after the Temptations started being a Motown success, they were assigned a new manager. The scene in the play shows the band members looking dumbfounded as the new manager walks into the office. “You’re white!” they exclaim. “Well, Jewish” he responds. I knew from the moment that they mentioned his name as Shelly Berger, (played by Reed Campbell), that he was a member of the tribe. What struck me though was a couple of things– one, the actor playing him didn’t seem to understand why he was saying it, the line was kinda thrown away, the hand gestures seemed too restrained, and he came off to me as the most goyishe Jew I’ve ever seen.
I wondered why the line was there at all. It was a realistic response given that we as Jews often feel the need to bagel ourselves (or out ourselves as Jews) and to draw a distinction between us and the other white folk. I know that I personally have marked “other” on demographic forms since I was a really young child, never having considered myself “white” in spite of my blue eyes, small nose and fair complexion. I have often been known to say “I look white, but don’t consider myself white” acknowledging the privilege I have to “pass” if I don’t out myself as “other”.
While the Jews in the audience may well have understood the reason and need for the manager to make the distinction, I’m not sure the rest of the audience did. I know that to me it meant that we share a sense of urgency and concern for Civil Rights and that we have our own history of persecution and victimhood. We have a culture and common collective subconscious as well as a sense of a shared generational trauma that we induct every new generation into at Passover. So, when Berger responded to the call of “You’re White” with “Well, Jewish,” I got it- it’s exactly what I would have said, but I don’t know that all of the background and reasoning came out to the uninitiated, so again, I wonder why the line was put in at all.
Looking very closely at the playbill, down towards the bottom of the credits I think I found the answer, the executive producers were Otis Williams and Shelly Berger. So that makes me think that that must have been how the actual conversation happened, and with Berger being one of the producers, it may have been important to him to keep that side of bagel accurate. Perhaps as a love letter to the rest of the tribe in the audience? I don’t know, but I did smile a little when he said it.
Sandi Masori is a theatre and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World. Professionally she helps people self-publish their books. Personally, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and hunting for the best sushi in town.