An Ode to Motown
There is something quietly thrilling about seeing performers outside the frame that first introduced them to you. It disrupts familiarity. It redraws the boundaries of expectation. Sitting inside the theatre for the final dress rehearsal of An Ode to Motown, that disruption came early — and it came powerfully.
Lerato Mvelase was the first revelation. Known to many through the language of television — where her craft is contained within the borders of a camera lens — she arrived on stage as something altogether different. A vocalist. A narrator. A commanding presence. Her performance didn’t merely interpret the material; it carried it. She threaded the history of Motown through her voice with conviction and personality, revealing vocal depth and range that transformed surprise into admiration. On stage she expanded — larger, freer, and more electric — embodying the kind of theatrical vitality that only live performance can hold.
Opposite her stood Liesl Penniken, whose presence was striking before a single note landed. Beauty alone rarely sustains attention, but presence does — and hers commanded it. Watching her live felt immersive, as though the distance between performer and audience dissolved. Yet what defined the stage was not a singular spotlight but collective radiance: Tamara Dey, Hlengiwe Pearl, Anele Precious Mthethwa — artists whose elegance, charisma, and technical command recreated Motown’s romantic canon with confidence and swagger.
Their selections leaned into the emotional architecture that built the label’s legacy — love songs, yearning songs, songs of devotion and desire. Classics associated with Marvin Gaye and the Jackson 5 floated through the auditorium with warmth and familiarity. When “Lovin’ You” appeared — its softness and melodic intimacy filling the space — it reminded everyone present that the emotional centre of Motown has always been affection: romantic, communal, and nostalgic. These are songs designed to reconnect people with memory, and the audience responded instinctively, singing along without hesitation.
Seeing Tamara Dey return to the stage carried its own resonance — a reminder of artistic longevity and reinvention. Meanwhile, Hlengiwe Pearl and Anele Precious Mthethwa radiated vitality, balancing vocal strength with visual poise, demonstrating the precision and confidence that anchor ensemble work of this nature.
If the first act glowed with elegance and romance, the second shifted its gravitational centre. The entrance of the male performers altered the energy immediately — grounding the sound with bass, momentum, and physical dynamism. Familiar faces, possibly members of iComplete, stepped forward in tailored black attire that signalled cohesion and intent. Their presence sharpened the show’s rhythm, adding contrast and propulsion that elevated the production into full theatrical stride. It was here that the performance felt as though it truly lifted off — voices interlocking, choreography tightening, the atmosphere thickening with collective electricity.
Beyond the performers themselves, the production design deserves equal recognition. Sequined costumes, sculpted wigs, and textured styling evoked the visual mythology of Motown without slipping into imitation. The aesthetic achieved suggestion rather than replication — conjuring an aura rather than recreating a museum piece. It allowed nostalgia to exist not as reenactment, but as living memory.
That nostalgia became the emotional undercurrent of the evening. The theatre transformed into a communal archive of sound, where audience members sang freely, recollected openly, and shared in musical remembrance. Motown’s catalogue transcends generational boundaries; it is social glue disguised as melody. The rehearsal space, even in its unfinished state, vibrated with this shared participation.
One of the production’s most intriguing gestures arrived through its intellectual layering — weaving philosophical and historical fragments into the musical journey. References touching on Nietzsche and the inclusion of Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice expanded the narrative scope beyond entertainment, situating Motown within broader conversations about identity, struggle, joy, and human aspiration. These insertions reminded viewers that the music emerged from a particular historical consciousness — one shaped by resistance, imagination, and collective hope.
Anchoring the entire production was the live band — exceptional in both sensitivity and precision. Their musicianship ensured that the show never drifted into pastiche. They did not merely accompany; they animated, guided, and textured every transition. Live instrumentation granted the music immediacy, breathing elasticity and emotional responsiveness into songs that have lived decades beyond their origins.
What ultimately lingers after witnessing An Ode to Motown is not a singular performance moment but a composite feeling. The show operates as tribute, celebration, and emotional time capsule simultaneously. It honours the past while energising the present. It invites memory while delivering immediacy. And above all, it affirms that Motown’s spirit — its romance, its confidence, its communal joy — remains timeless.
This production does not simply revisit the music.
It reminds audiences why it never left them.
Choreography: Lulu Mlangeni
Musical direction: Margaret Motsage
Live band
Mpho Kodisang - Piano
Earl Joseph Baartman - Bass
Urbano Bay Nobela - Guitar
Tshepa Diale
Congratulations James Ngcobo and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.
📸 : SamSays
