Theatre News Wire

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce that MOTOWN THE MUSICAL has chosen Chicago as the first stop on its national tour. The hit Broadway musical features music and lyrics from the legendary Motown catalogue and a book by Berry Gordy. Crowned the biggest box office hit of the season by the New York Times, MOTOWN will launch its national tour at Chicago's Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph) from April 22 to July 13, 2014. Since it began performances on Broadway in April 2013, the show has sold every single ticket available and grossed over one million dollars every week.

"It's an honor to launch the tour of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL in Chicago - I attended Deerfield High School, and it's where I developed my love for Broadway!" says Tony Award-winning producer Kevin McCollum. "Chicagoans have always had a deep appreciation for great music, great theatre, and great history, which makes it the perfect place to be the first city outside of NY to host Berry Gordy's incredible story and the legendary Motown catalog. It is a credit to the State Legislature's support of theatre for the Illinois Live Theatre Production Tax Credit, which made MOTOWN launching in Chicago possible."

Producer Doug Morris, Chairman and CEO of SONY Music Entertainment, said "Berry Gordy is a true American pioneer, and this is a wonderful opportunity for Chicago audiences to be the first city to experience the Motown phenomenon through the eyes of the man who lived it, and to hear some of the greatest pop songs of all time, before the musical travels across the country."

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, MOTOWN is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. The show charts Motown Founder Berry Gordy's journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.

MOTOWN tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. The music that shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat has finally arrived on Broadway and will launch its national tour in Chicago.

MOTOWN's creative team features choreography by Patricia Wilcox (Blues in the Night) and Warren Adams (Toy Story), scenic design by David Korins (Bring It On: The Musical, Annie), costume design by Tony Award nominee ESosa (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, "Project Runway"), lighting design by Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (Once, Sister Act), sound design by Tony Award nominee Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages, The Scottsboro Boys), projection design by Daniel Brodie (Jekyll and Hyde), hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe (Memphis) and casting by Telsey + Company.

MOTOWN features arrangements and orchestrations by Tony Award nominee Ethan Popp (Rock of Ages), who also serves as music supervisor in reproducing the classic "Sound of Young America," with co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Tony Award nominee Bryan Crook ("Smash") and dance arrangements by Zane Mark (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).