Motown: the Musical

Busyness continued Saturday. In the morning we toured five gardens as part of the weekend Northwest Perennial Alliance tour. I'll post photos as I process them later.

We got home about 1:30 and had lunch and then I made a quick trip to the grocery store. Tom took a nap. At 4:00 we watched the US Mens National Team (USMNT) defeat Paraguay and win their group in the first round of the COPA America Centenario, a North and South American tournament. It was an intense match but I managed to cook us some dinner while I watched.  The USA now advances to the quarter finals, and will play here in Seattle Thursday evening, against Ecuador. Sunday morning I went on line, splurged, and bought tickets. 

But back to Saturday. In the evening we got dressed up a little bit and took the light rail into the city to go to Motown: The Musical at the Paramount Theater. 

We were gifted these tickets from our financial adviser, who occasionally invites clients to events courtesy of his company. 

Motown is essentially a musical revue of the stars of the Motown Recording Company, founded by Berry Gordy.  Actors represented stars such as Marvin Gay, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and The Jackson Five.  

I really wish I would have done a little advanced study of the history of Motown. It would have helped to have more background knowledge as the format covered the 25 years of the company,  referencing national historical events as the years passed.

I also wish I could have loved the performance more. Many in the audience were obviously enthralled, as noted by their cheering and shouting and whooping. We did recognize many of the songs and groups, of course, but we were not so much into this music at the time, being busily into starting our teaching careers and then raising kids. 

The actors -singers and dancers - were wonderful, and gave amazing performances. The story line was interesting. However the music was over-amplified, and yet the words were not always clear. I fought off a headache just from the loudness. Yes, I did turn down my hearing aids. 

But to end on a positive note, we were very appreciative of this experience. It was indeed a gift. Just watching and listening to these talented people on stage was wonderful, and a good history lesson is always to be valued.