You can’t hurry for love! Motown The Musical arrives at The Alexandra Theatre

West End hit Motown The Musical will be the first ever show at The Alexandra Theatre following the venue’s £650K revamp.

The hit production, which is opening its first ever UK and Ireland Tour at the Station Street venue, will run from Thursday until November 3.

Fans can look forward to a live orchestra playing 50 Motown tracks including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I’ll Be There, Dancing In The Street, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My Girl and I Heard It through the Grapevine.

It will also tell the extraordinary story of Motown founder Berry Gordy, who with just with just $800 borrowed from his family went from featherweight boxer to heavyweight music mogul, discovering and launching the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more. Motown the Musical uncovers the true story of the legendary record label that changed music history and created the soundtrack of a generation.

Lisa Mart, theatre director at The Alexandra, says: “It has been an incredibly busy summer for us here at The Alexandra with a great deal of work taking place – we are so grateful to all of our customers and neighbours for their patience while we undergo this fantastic refurbishment. We are so honoured to be able to relaunch the venue with a production as spectacular as Motown The Musical in October – we know the show will be embraced by Birmingham audiences who have always held a special place in their hearts for music of this genre. We can’t wait to spend the month dancing alongside the superbly talented cast.”

Producer of Motown the Musical, Adam Spiegel, says: “Motown the Musical is proud to be the first show to play at The Alexandra and we are thrilled to be opening our tour in Birmingham. On behalf of everyone at the show, I can guarantee that audiences will be dancing in the aisles of Birmingham’s newest refurbished theatre.”

Motown the Musical received its world premiere in April 2013 in New York and recouped its $18 million investment by the end of 2014. The first US National Tour opened to critical acclaim in spring 2014 in Chicago, grossing $20 million dollars during its standing room only 16-week run.

The London production of Motown the Musical opened on February 11, 2016. The production continues to play to standing ovations at the Shaftesbury Theatre where it is half way through its third year and is booking until April next year.

Adam says: “If the evidence from London is to be followed, it’ll be great. We opened the show two and a half years ago in London. You can argue about what the very best music that has ever been created is, but there’s little argument that this is the best that’s come out of America. It’s the music that lots of people have lived their life to.

“It’s about the battles that Berry Gordy had to fight to create his amazing company and it encompasses the racial divisions that were much more prevalent. White people didn’t listen to black music on the radio back then. But it’ll be 60 years ago next January and the world is a completely different place. The journey is not over but there’s a strong argument that Motown played it’s part in improving the world.”