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‘Ain’t Too Proud’s’ Michael Andreaus on playing living legend Otis Williams every night

– Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Jalen Harris, Michael Andreaus, Harrell Holmes Jr., E. Clayton Cornelious from the National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud. (Emilio Madrid, 2023)

DETROIT – Last year, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations made its celebratory Motown premiere at the Detroit Opera House. At the time, Michael Andreaus was playing record executive Berry Gordy.

The musical was such a hit in Detroit, it’s making its encore engagement just a year later. This time, Andreaus is leading the pack as Otis Williams.

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Andreaus shares his excitement for returning to Motown, what makes it so special and what it’s like to perform as the living legend.

How does it feel to come back to Motown, but this time as Otis Williams?

I can hardly put it into words. It doesn’t feel real just yet. I grew up on Motown. It was a staple in my home and in my life. Just getting a chance to visit the Motown Museum seemed like a dream at one point. I’ve been to the museum now, I’ve performed there, and now I get to perform all of these great songs that people love and grew up on. I don’t get nervous very often, but I think that first show is going to be really overwhelming for me emotionally just because of the opportunity that’s been presented. It’s going to be amazing.

Last time, you played the legendary Berry Gordy, a role that had a little more humor than Otis. How was it transitioning to the leader of The Temptations?

The idea that you’re the one that’s driving the ship, that’s keeping all these plates spinning, I think it’s a whole other challenge. Berry Gordy was a lot of fun. He gets some good one-liners and he gets to just be the boss.

Being the one to lead, not only from a storytelling standpoint, but from a technical one as well, I’m the one visually cueing the lights to do different things. There’s also the sound. All of these things now fall under my watch.

And I do get to have some fun. There are some funny lines in there. Of course, I get to dance all this wonderful choreography and I get to sing all these great songs. But at the heart of it, just being able to tell this story in a real and truthful way is what really connects people to this show. Being able to be the one that gets to do that is pretty cool.

And you’ve been with the tour since the very beginning.

Although I was in a different role before, four of the five classic Temps have been with the show since the beginning: myself, Elijah [Ahamad Lewis], Harrell [Holmes Jr.] and Jalen [Harris]. We’ve developed such a bond with each other. When you’re out on the road, you become a family. I’m really grateful for it and I know it’s one that’s going to last the rest of our lives. That’s one of the great things coming out of something like this.

Did you get to meet Otis Williams?

I’ve met Otis a couple of times. The first time he saw me perform as him was in Nashville. We had met several times before, he was in our rehearsals, and I met him in Detroit, LA and Atlanta. He pops in. He’s been a few times when we didn’t know he was going to be there just to make sure the quality is still where it needs to be.

Were you nervous about Otis seeing you perform as him?

The first time I knew he was going to be there, I was definitely nervous. I’m always so impressed with his body of work and everything. You just want that stamp of approval. Thankfully, I think he enjoyed it. I hadn’t been fired so I guess that means I did something right.

Having him see the work really just gave me the confidence to keep going with it and to keep finding new layers of the story. We have a resident director, Brian, who always tells us, “Don’t make it bigger, just make it deeper.” That’s something I strive for because I want to make sure that the story stays fresh. The only way to do that is to keep finding new ways to connect to it. Knowing Otis enjoyed it just gives me permission to keep going with it and making it better each time.

Harrel Holmes Jr., Jalen Harris, Dwayne P. Mitchell, Michael Andreaus, E. Clayton Cornelious from the National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud. (2023)

I’m sure that gives you the creative freedom to not have to be a carbon copy of Otis.

Right. Our creatives have all stressed from the beginning that they don’t want us to. It’s never been about pretending to be any of The Temptations. I’ve taken some things that I’ve seen out of Otis in person, in videos, and just watching him perform. But they really wanted us to all bring ourselves our own energy to it. It’s great to have that freedom to not feel like you have to be somebody else. But, of course, when they’re a real person, you want to make sure that you’re honoring them and that you’re doing right by him. It’s a tightrope.

Since you’ve been with the show from the very beginning and you’ll be with it until it closes next year, what do you think has been the greatest part of being in Ain’t Too Proud.

Honestly, it’s the relationships that I’ve built. You don’t always get to enjoy being around the people that you work with as much as I have with this group. From the first week that we rehearsed, we all clicked. Like any family, you’re going to have your ops and downs, your disagreements. But the connection that I feel with this cast and crew, that’s the thing that I’m going to carry with me.

And that we’re able to take an authentically Black story into so many people’s backyards and allow them to see The Temptations in a way that they maybe haven’t seen before. We get to give them a chance to see what happens between the headlines. When you’re on the outside looking in, all you is this person left, and this person got sick, and this person died. You never really get to see what happened in between those moments. This has been a really good opportunity for us to be share in this legacy and expose them to what these guys went through.

What are you looking forward to in your second round in Detroit?

As many great places as we’ve been through in this tour, we have not had a house that has as heavy energy as Detroit has brought. I experienced it on a smaller scale as Berry Gordy. I think Detroit audiences have a special connection to the music. They hear a few notes and they already know what’s coming. You don’t get that everywhere you go. Just knowing how connected and invested audiences are in the show and the music, it allows us to perform on a whole ‘nother level.

Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations is playing at the Fisher Theatre from December 19 to 23, 2023. For showtimes and tickets, visit BroadwayinDetroit.com.


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