A review of "A Motown Christmas" at the Ensemble Theatre
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The cast of "A Motown Christmas." Photo: Stephanie R. Brown/courtesy of the Ensemble Theatre
Want something new to see instead of the yearly, classic renditions of "A Christmas Carol" and "The Nutcracker" in Houston? You're in luck: the Ensemble Theatre is showing "A Motown Christmas" till Dec. 24.
Driving the news: "A Motown Christmas" is packed with musical dance numbers from Motown Records' holiday songs.
- The musical features a loose plotline of a group of friends gathering on Christmas Eve and playing a game of guessing a famous Motown artist, like Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5 and the Supremes.
- The show has it all: holiday spirit, a dash of religion, and a history and celebration of Motown Records — the iconic Black-owned record label.
Context: The Ensemble is one of a few Black community theaters in the country, and it's the oldest and largest professional African American theater in the Southwest U.S.
👋 Shafaq here. I went to the community theater with my family last weekend, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was happy-making.
Quick rating: 9 out of 10 Christmas trees.
My thought bubble: Motown plays such a significant role in Black music history, and it was beautiful to see a show dedicated to Motown originals and covers of traditional Christmas songs like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Some of my highlights: Hearing the people around me guess which artist the characters were referring to. One woman behind me whispered, "It must be Marvin Gaye!"
- The audience singing along.
- The impressive vocals of the singers.
If you go: Tickets range from $41 to $60.
- Several dates are already sold out or close to selling out.
What they're saying: This is the theater's second year in a row showing "A Motown Christmas."
- "Even though we were at 50% capacity [last year], 'A Motown Christmas' did extremely well," says Stephanie Brown, Ensemble's audience development director. "We know that not everyone had the opportunity to see the show, so we decided to bring it back again this season."
What's next: I'm attending a few more holiday shows this year, so stay tuned for more reviews.