Theatre News

Lucy St. Louis and Cedric Neal to star in Motown The Musical

The Tony Award-winning jukebox musical opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre next year

Aisha Jawondo (Martha Reeves), Berry Gordy, Lucy St Louis (Diana Ross) and Cedric Neal (Berry Gordy)
Aisha Jawondo (Martha Reeves), Berry Gordy, Lucy St Louis (Diana Ross) and Cedric Neal (Berry Gordy)
© Dan Wooller

Initial casting has been announced for Motown The Musical which opens at the Shaftesbury Theatre in February 2016.

Lucy St. Louis and Cedric Neal will lead the cast as Diana Ross and Berry Gordy respectively. St. Louis is currently in Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and will appear in the upcoming Disney live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Her previous theatre credits including The Book of Mormon and Ragtime.

Neal's acting credits include Dreamgirls, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Friday Night Lights.

They will be joined by Keisha Amponsa Banson (Mary Wells), Cherelle Williams (Mary Wilson), Cleopatra Rey (Gladys Knight), Cindy Belliot (Anna Gordy), Aisha Jawondo (Martha Reeves), Samuel Edwards (Jackie Wilson), Brandon Lee Sears (Tito Jackson), Joshua Liburd (Eddie Kendricks) and Simeon Montague (Jermaine Jackson).

Also in the cast will be Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Tanya Nicola Edwards, Eddie Elliot, Portia Harry and Simon Ray Harvey.

The show, which follows the career of producer and songwriter Berry Gordy and the creation of Motown Records, is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright with music, lyrics and book by the legendary Motown founder himself Berry Gordy.

Gordy's label signed artists including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations.

Featuring hits including "My Girl," "What's Going On," "Dancing in the Street," "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", the show premiered on Broadway in 2013.

Further casting is yet to be announced.

Motown The Musical will run at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 11 February to 22 October 2016.