Word: motowners
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...basic as the show's main ingredients. A six-piece band led by guitarist Keith Robinson and sax man Jackie Beard sizzles, playing songs like "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Baby I Need Your Loving" with more energy than what often appeared on muted Motown recordings. The band also often becomes part of the action. Various members lead the crowd in hand-clapping, and Robinson actually leads the singing during two songs...
...eight dancers and singers add to the show with straightforward and unpretentious performances. Although they carve out individual styles, the performers never subvert the joy of the music. The feeling of community conveyed by the band and cooperative performers reflects the original Motown environment in Detroit which vaulted so much young. Black talent to superstardom...
...MOTOWN'S IN L.A. NOW. And the Motown acts which still skip around the country deliver performances which are mere shadows of the steamy Motown era. The Four Tops, wearing matching but noticeably larger suits, now sing only a medley of their half-dozen super hits, apparently lacking the stamina to bring the house down with full versions of "Standin' in the Shadows of Love" and "Reach Out I'll Be There...
...where the original artists of these great moments in American music history seem to have faltered, the cast of Dancin' in the Street! excels stunningly: the energy and movement is infectious, reminiscent of the days when the enthusiasm of Motown audiences was an integral part of the show. Cast members say that what buoys them nightly, as they continue at a break-neck, eight-shows-a-week pace, is the excitement shown by the audience...
...singing songs which departed play lists long before she started tuning in radio airwaves makes her performance particularly refreshing. Everett Gibson, a Boston University junior with more muscles in his face than most people have in their entire body, delivers a sweaty, torrid show which also rekindles the Motown energy of the '60s. Sweet nostalgic moments come when Gibson assumes a falsetto and does two preteen Michael Jackson tunes which are at once hilarious and dazzling...