My solution to Make America Great Again is to “simply escape a while” to freeFall Theatre’s Motown Celebration, where the award-winning Broadway actor-singer, Chester Gregory, is simply unmissable. It’s a virtuoso’s turn on every level. Dressed in a maroon velvet blazer with black satin lapels, “music” emblazoned on his arm, and a giant “M” Motown logo on the back, young Mr. Gregory is a phenom.
The crackerjack band is equally impressive, anchored by musical director-pianist, Damon Carter, who was so memorable as Jimmy Powers in last season’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.” Here, he nimbly caresses a grand piano or coaxes myriad tones from his electric keyboard, which sometimes wistfully pretends to be a Hammond organ.
The other two band members are equally versatile as musicians with diametrically opposed visual personas. Drummer E.J. Porter exemplifies cool, despite delivering every beat in the Motown book, he’s got a natural reserve, often closing his eyes and rolling his neck like a Jane Fonda exercise video. Bassist Matthew McKinnon can hardly contain his joy, as he and Gregory toss around big Cheshire Cat grins like two Olympic ping-pong medalists. But McKinnon always delivers musically, especially with the familiar bass riff on Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
Joy, it seems, is the order of the day as Gregory seduces the audience with many charming personal anecdotes and a cavalcade of Motown hits. One minute he’s Smokey Robinson, then Motown’s founder Berry Gordy (his role on Broadway and on tour), then Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and even James Brown.
He’s got all the right moves as he struts, jumps, leans, and bends leading the audience in call and response; we are putty in his hands. An impressive head of hair rises high above his scalp and an equally notable ring on his right index finger gleams as he rocks, shimmies, and claps his hands cajoling the audience to sing along “signed, sealed, delivered.”
The songs are so familiar and the atmosphere so welcoming and relaxed that there are snippets of melody wafting in from the crowd. Across the aisle from me is a middle-aged woman clearly younger than most of the crowd. Let’s call her, Aretha. She sings beautifully, adding the sweet, punchy echoing background vocals so much a part of the Motown sound.
Gregory has great fun reminding us of how Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love” still surprises since the singer is white, and laughs when he reaches the familiar brass section of the arrangement since there are no horns in the room. Never fear, he calls upon the crowd to mimic the bridge and we are willing accomplices. Later, he has us all whistling.
Set designer, Edward E. Haynes Jr. and the lighting team of Trenten Szabo executing Andrew Schmedake’s design produce an appealing physical environment up to freeFall’s usual exacting standards. The stage is chock-full of lush neutral drapery which proves a welcome canvas for evocative use of lighting colors. There’re lots of mid-century modern furniture and design touches, plus a veritable museum for sound historians: record player, reel to reel, microphones, and an unidentified box with a meter plus a quartet of big black knobs and multiple switches.
Even at a sleepy, rainy Sunday matinee, in an audience jam-packed with aging boomers (myself included), Gregory’s charismatic guided tour through Motown’s greatest hits, turns into a dance party. “Who remembers ‘American Bandstand?’” he coos seductively into his mic. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he challenges us with “how about Shindig!”? Before you can say Dick Clark, the 140-plus audience members are on their feet like giggling 1960s teens doing the Twist, the Jerk, the Swim and the Watusi.
Across the aisle from me, “Aretha” is clearly in the zone, doing perfect renditions of all the dances as they are mentioned. Her “pony” is particularly evocative with a prancing triple step while holding the reins out front; she practically neighs with glee while her nearly waist-length braids bounce in rhythm as she gallops in place. It turns out, she’s a child of New York whose parents lined the stairs with Motown album covers and taught her all the dances that they treasured. I’ll bet there’s an “Aretha” or two at your performance; certainly no one is holding back. Proof that Motown endures across generations.
Even those less talented and well-trained audience members are having the time of their lives. There are many dance-challenged folks who are nonetheless caught up in the energy of the moment. Gregory’s brand of unbridled enthusiasm whips the crowd into an evangelical Motown frenzy. His vocal prowess is inspiring, effortlessly jumping registers and sustaining notes beyond imagining. But he’s also a superb actor who shares touching, emotional stories which I dare not give away. Suffice it to say, when he finally ends after 90 minutes—running up and down the aisles with James Brown’s “I Feel Good”—a sense of euphoria sweeps the crowd and we all feel good, too. Very good, indeed.
“A Motown Celebration” is at St. Petersburg’s freeFall Theatre on select nights through Sept. 10, and tickets start at $25.
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This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2023.