Show guide
Ain't Too Proud
Ain't Too Proud follows the Temptations from a Detroit street corner to the top of the pop charts, tracing the cost of fame through the eyes of founding member Otis Williams.
- Broadway premiere
- 2019
- Music by
- Kenny Seymour
- Genre
- Jukebox
- Setting
- 1960s
Ain't Too Proud: quick answers
What is Ain't Too Proud about?
- Ain't Too Proud tells the story of the Temptations, narrated by founding member Otis Williams, following the Motown group from the streets of Detroit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, through hit records, lineup changes, and personal loss.
When did Ain't Too Proud open on Broadway?
- Ain't Too Proud opened on Broadway on March 21, 2019, at the Imperial Theatre. After the pandemic shutdown it reopened in October 2021 and played its final performance on January 16, 2022, after 488 performances.
Is Ain't Too Proud a jukebox musical?
- Yes. Its songs come from the Temptations' own Motown catalog, woven into a biographical book by Dominique Morisseau based on Otis Williams's memoir.
Where and when is Ain't Too Proud set?
- Ain't Too Proud begins in Detroit, where the Temptations formed and signed with Motown, and follows the group across the decades to its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Has Ain't Too Proud played in London's West End?
- Ain't Too Proud began performances in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre on March 31, 2023, and closed earlier than planned, on September 17, 2023.
Is there a Ain't Too Proud movie?
- There is no film of the musical, but the same story, also based on Otis Williams's memoir, was told in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations, which won an Emmy for director Allan Arkush.
The story of Ain't Too Proud
Ain't Too Proud opens in early 1960s Detroit, where a group of young singers led by Otis Williams forms a vocal act that will become the Temptations. As the group signs with Motown and starts climbing the charts, the show follows its shifting lineup through the additions of David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Melvin Franklin, and the friction that comes with sudden success.
Narrated by an older Otis looking back on his life, the musical moves through decades of hit records, lineup changes, and personal loss, weighing the price of stardom against the group's original bond. It is as much about brotherhood and sacrifice as it is about music, showing how ambition and ego can pull a family apart even as their songs unite a nation.
The music and the makers
Ain't Too Proud is a jukebox musical built on the Temptations' own Motown catalog, songs written across the 1960s and 1970s by hitmakers such as Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitfield, and Eddie Holland. Kenny Seymour served as music supervisor and arranger, with orchestrations by Harold Wheeler, shaping the group's recorded hits into a score that carries a live stage show, with Dominique Morisseau writing the book.
Classics like My Girl, Get Ready, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, and the title song Ain't Too Proud to Beg anchor the evening, moving from sweet doo-wop harmonies to the harder funk and social commentary of the group's later work. That range lets the score trace the Temptations' own musical evolution as much as their personal story.
Ain't Too Proud on Broadway
The musical opened on Broadway on March 21, 2019, at the Imperial Theatre, with Derrick Baskin as Otis Williams, Jeremy Pope as Eddie Kendricks, Ephraim Sykes as David Ruffin, Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin, and James Harkness as Paul Williams. It earned twelve Tony nominations, including Best Musical, and won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for Sergio Trujillo's staging.
The production ran for several years, pausing during the pandemic shutdown before reopening in 2021, and toured extensively across North America. Its success helped cement the jukebox musical built around a single group's catalog as a durable Broadway format, and it remains a showcase for the vocal harmonies and choreography that defined Motown's golden era.
Ain't Too Proud: frequently asked questions
When did Ain't Too Proud open on Broadway?
Ain't Too Proud opened on Broadway on March 21, 2019, at the Imperial Theatre.
Who wrote the music for Ain't Too Proud?
It is a jukebox musical built on the Temptations' Motown catalog, with Kenny Seymour serving as music supervisor and arranger, Harold Wheeler as orchestrator, and Dominique Morisseau writing the book.
What is Ain't Too Proud about?
It tells the story of the Temptations, from their formation in early 1960s Detroit through decades of fame, lineup changes, and personal loss, narrated by founding member Otis Williams.
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