( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Tony Award Winning Ain’t Too Proud The Life and Times of the Temptations is Headed to London’s West End
The smash hit Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations will bring the incredible true story of the greatest R&B group of all time to London’s West End, with performances beginning at the Prince Edward Theatre on Friday, March 31, 2023. The casting is to be announced soon.
Otis Williams, the group’s founding member and an executive producer of the show said today, “I am truly thrilled that our Tony Award-winning musical will open in the West End next Spring. The UK has always loved our music and embraces it as much today as it did 60 years ago. All of us involved with the show can’t wait to share this production with London audiences.”
Ain’t Too Proud has a book by Kennedy Prize-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau and reunites two-time Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff with Tony and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Sergio Trujilio, whose previous collaborations include the Tony Award-winning sensation Jersey Boys.
Ain’t Too Proud, which was nominated for a staggering 11 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical. It took home the prize for Best Choreography, which is the electrifying new musical that follows the remarkable journey of The Temptations from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an incredible 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. The rest is history–how they met, how they rose, the ground-breaking heights they hit, and how personal and political conflicts threatened to tear the group apart. This thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal is set to the beat of the group’s beloved, era-defining, and Grammy Award-winning music including the hits “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and so many more.
Since its launch in December 2021 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the North America tour of Ain’t Too Proud has played over 25 cities, with a list of nearly 40 additional cities announced and growing. The touring production has thrilled almost 650,000 audience members during its first nine months on the road alone, breaking multiple house records along the way.
The Temptations are often referred to as American Music Royalty, with an expansive catalog of hit songs and a prolific six-decade career. Billboard Magazine’s Number One ‘Greatest R&B/Hip Hop Artist of all Time.’ The group was also named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘100 Greatest Artists of all Time.’ Their first million-selling single, “My Girl” was released in 1965 and reached Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100. They were among the first African American musical artists to crossover into mainstream America. Under the Motown record label, they won its first-ever Grammy in 1969 for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group. In 1989 The Temptations were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with their songs “Just My Imagination”, “Papa was a Rollin’ Stone” and “My Girl” in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ‘500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll.’ In 1994 The Temptations were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, and in 2019 a star on the Apollo Theater’s Walk of Fame in Harlem, New York City. Still helmed by founding member, Otis Williams, The Temptations celebrate their 60th Anniversary this year, with a brand-new album, Temptations 60, and an international tour.
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