Motown extends and Obioma Ugoala joins cast
Casting news
THE West End production of Motown the Musical has released over 350,000 tickets for sale with the show now booking at the Shaftesbury Theatre until October 28, 2017.
And on July 4, 2016, Obioma Ugoala (pictured above) will join the cast in the role of Smokey Robinson.
Obioma Ugoala’s previous theatre credits include Richard II, Henry IV part I & II, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Royal Shakespeare Company), Holy Warriors and Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Jungle Book and Crime and Punishment (Glasgow Citizens Theatre) and The Physicists (Donmar Warehouse).
On television, he has appeared in Doctors, while on film he will be seen in the upcoming Disney live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
Ugoala joins Cedric Neal as Berry Gordy, Lucy St. Louis as Diana Ross (pictured below) and Sifiso Mazibuko as Marvin Gaye, who lead the cast of Motown the Musical.
They are joined by Keisha Amponsa Banson (Mary Wells), Cindy Belliot (Anna Gordy), Samuel Edwards (Jackie Wilson), Tanya Nicole Edwards (Florence Ballard), Portia Harry (Teena Marie), Aisha Jawando (Martha Reeves), Joshua Liburd (Eddie Kendricks), Simeon Montague (Jermaine Jackson), Cleopatra Rey (Gladys Knight), Brandon Lee Sears (Tito Jackson), Jordan Shaw (Stevie Wonder) and Cherelle Williams (Mary Wilson).
Eshan Gopal, 12 years old from Kingsbury, London, Kwame Kandekore, 13 years old from Leicester and Bradley Morton, 11 years old from Oxford alternate the role of Young Michael Jackson.
They in turn are joined by swings and ensemble members Jay Bryce, Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Eddie Elliott, Christopher Fry, Alex Hammond, Edward Handoll, Simon Ray Harvey, Elias Hendricks, Brian James Leys, Jayde Nelson, Kieran McGinn, Simone Mistry Palmer, Carl Spencer and Marcel J Whyte.
With just $800 borrowed from his family, Motown founder Berry Gordy, goes 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.
Featuring a sixteen piece 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, Charles Randolph-Wright’s production tells the story behind the classic hits.
Read more about Motown the Musical.