EGOT winner John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Co. partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorious have joined the producing team of Ain’t Too Proud–The Life and Times of the Temptations. As previously announced, the Tony-nominated musical will return to the Imperial Theatre October 16.
Legend, who won a Tony Award in 2017 as a producer of the revival of August Wilson’s Jitney along with Jackson, performed with the cast of the show during the 74th annual Tony Awards last month. The news comes on the heels of a number of A-listers joining Main Stem productions as theatres begin to reopen.
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“Performing with this incredible cast is a memory I’ll always cherish,” said the “Ordinary People” singer. “The Temptations’ music is core to my own musical upbringing and is an integral part of America’s cultural heartbeat. This is a musical I love and a story I want to help share. In this pivotal time, it’s so important that we support and maintain Broadway, an essential part of the soul of New York and the entire nation.”
Leading the cast for the show's return will be Nik Walker as Otis Williams, James Harkness as Paul Williams, Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin, Matt Manuel as David Ruffin, and Jelani Remy as Eddie Kendricks. All five were starring in the production prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Ain’t Too Proud opened on Broadway March 21, 2019, and was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book for Dominique Morisseau, and Best Director for Des McAnuff. Sergio Trujillo won Best Choreography.
The production features sets by Robert Bill, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound design by Steve Canyon, projections by Peter Nigrini, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, fight direction by Steve Rankin, orchestrations by Harold Wheeler, music coordination by John Miller, music direction by Kenny Seymour, and vocal supervision by Liz Caplan with Edgar Godineaux as associate choreographer. The stage manager is Molly Meg Legal and casting is by Merri Sugarman of Tara Rubin Casting.
The first national touring production will launch this December and visit more than 50 cities.
