Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Story Headed To Broadway

Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Story Headed To Broadway
Posted by Wilson Morales

June 15, 2012

Source: New York Post

The New York Post’s Michael Riedel says that “Berry Gordy Jr. was in town last month meeting with agents, theater owners and producers about an autobiographical musical using his Motown catalog of hits.

How do I know this?

I heard it through the grapevine!

Gordy’s wanted to do “Motown” (the show’s working title) on Broadway for years. Since he’ll be 83 in November, he’s telling everyone, “Let’s Get It On!”

(OK, enough with the Motown references. I’m starting to sound like a correspondent for NY1’s “OnStage.”)

Kevin McCollum, the crackerjack producer behind “High Fidelity” and “[title of show]” (smash hits, both — not), is bringing “Motown” to Broadway next year. The co-producer is Doug Morris, who runs Sony Music.

But let’s be honest: Berry Gordy’s going to be calling the shots.

Charles Randolph-Wright, who was in the original production of “Dreamgirls,” is directing. He’s staged countless shows in regional theaters, including “Guys and Dolls” and “Sophisticated Ladies.”

Now Gordy’s looking for a writer. He’s met with Suzan-Lori Parks, who truncated “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” and Katori Hall, who wrote last season’s “The Mountaintop.”

“He’s still looking for the right fit,” says a production source.

He should meet with Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman. They wrote the gold standard of catalog musicals — “Jersey Boys,” which has a worldwide gross of $1 billion.

Elice and Brickman recognized that the real-life story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was more interesting than any fictional plot they could come up with. So they wrote a musical that has all the drama and intrigue of a VH1 “Behind the Music” episode.

And that’s exactly what Gordy wants to do with “Motown.”

“As you’d imagine, he’s got great stories,” a production source says.

If “Motown” has a shot, Gordy can’t sanitize his tale. You don’t get to be an entertainment mogul by being Mr. Nice Guy all the time. There have been countless books written about Motown, some implying that the company had mob connections — a charge Gordy’s always denied.

I once got hold of a book proposal by Tony Turner, who was a Motown gofer in the ’60s. Turner, who died of AIDS, unloaded a dump truck full of dirt on Gordy and Motown. I was working for the then-Daily News gossip columnist George Rush at the time, and we published Turner’s allegations. Gordy sued the News for $250 million. The suit went on for years but was eventually settled over a round of golf at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles between Gordy and News publisher Mort Zuckerman.

Who knows if all the allegations were true?

But they were certainly dramatic — good fodder for a gripping musical.

(I still have that book proposal, if you’d like to refresh your memory, Berry.)

In any case, Gordy will have to deal with the documented feuds, lawsuits, egos, divas and tragedies: the firing of Florence Ballard from the Supremes (“And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going” — sorry, wrong show); legal battles with the Jackson 5; the rise of superdiva Diana Ross; the fatal shooting of Marvin Gaye.

This is juicy material. Set against some of the greatest popular songs ever written, it could be shaped into a compelling musical.

Broadway’s the pinnacle, but if you have good songs, a strong directorial vision and a dramatic story, there ain’t no mountain . . . well, you know where I’m headed with this one.”