STLtoday.com
"Motown Revue" a winner at the Ivory Theatre
BY JUDITH NEWMARK, Post-Dispatch Theater Critic
jnewmark@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8243

Posted: Sunday, May 22, 2011 12:00 am

At the sumptuous Fox Theatre, you can catch "Jersey Boys," a big, glamorous show packed with hits that sound as fresh as they did years ago when they were new.
At the jewel-box Ivory Theatre, you can catch Unity Theatre Ensemble's "Motown Revue," a little, glamorous show that's also packed with hits that sound as fresh as they did when they were new.
Luckily, there's no need to choose. These two fun-filled shows complement each other beautifully, recreating sounds of the past that were once contemporaries.
There's a key difference, however - plot. "Jersey Boys" tells a story, the life of singer Frankie Valli. "Motown Revue," compiled and directed by Unity's Ralph E. Greene is just one thrilling number after another. From the opening song, a cover of a big hit by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the audience is dancing in the seats.
The performers don't go for impersonation. Curtis Jefferson doesn't wear sunglasses for his sizzling delivery of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." A glamorous woman, Leah Stewart, gives a warm, grown-up treatment to "I'll Be There," a song made famous by young Michael Jackson.
It works just fine. Although Motown songs are indelibly associated with their original artists, it's the music, not the stars,that Greene and his cast celebrate above all.
Greene builds the excitement on the sound of his versatile singers - Jefferson, Stewart, Shelley Miller, Ty Reed, Steven Lee, Herman Gordon, Shaunda Gordon, Cleophus Robinson and the commanding NV Vaughn, who takes the audience in the palm of her hand whenever she opens her mouth. Together, they look elegant and sound like a dream come true.
There's also a period-perfect dance ensemble, choreographed by Andrea Smythe. (One performer, Alicia Sunshine Gbaho, sports a big Afro that says it all. She's a beautiful dancer, too.) Singers and dancers are both secure in the hands of music director David A. Foote and his small, elegant band.
There aren't many shows that make an audience feel as good as "Motown Revue" does. But there's one at the Fox. This is a really good week to get to a St. Louis theater.

"Motown Revue"
Unity Theatre Ensemble
Where: Ivory Theatre, 7622 Michigan Avenue
When: 3 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 28; 3 p.m. May 29
How much: $21 in advance, $25 at the door
More info: 314-355-3586; theivorytheatre.com