Broadway’s latest smash hit, Motown The Musical, will be hitting the road starting April 2014 according to its website. That’s right the show that hasn’t had a non sold out show since beginning previews will have you doing the watusi and the boogaloo in a theatre near you. Its first stop will be the Oriental Theatre in Chicago.

It’s billed as the following: “Motown The Musical is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating show charts Motown founder Berry Gordy’s incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and so many more. Featuring all the classics you love, Motown The Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack that changed America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat. Now, it finally comes to the Broadway stage in the world premiere of Motown The Musical“.

No additional dates or stops have been announced as of yet. If this sells like the New York production, tickets will sell out faster than you can say ABC. As soon as we find out any additional tour dates, we will let you know.

We just LOVE the “In Performance” videos that the NY Times does. They capture actors on video doing short excerpts from their current show. This time around they invited Tony nominees to do scenes on location in an environment that would resemeble the world in which their character would dwell. Take a look at Tony nominees Shalita Grant and Courtney B. Vance’s scenes below.

Shalita Grant plays a doom-predicting waitress in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Tony Awards 2013: Shalita Grant – In Performance | The New York Times

The New York Times invited Tony nominees to perform on location. In a cinematic interpretation adapted from “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” Shalita Grant plays a doom-predicting waitress.

Courtney B. Vance, who plays a newspaper editor in Lucky Guy,rants about the columnist Mike McAlary.

Tony Awards 2013: Courtney B. Vance – In Performance

The New York Times invited Tony nominees to perform scenes on location in New York. Here, Courtney B. Vance, who plays a newspaper editor in “Lucky Guy,” rants about the columnist Mike McAlary.

This one’s our favorite
Billy Porter and Stark Sands sing “Not My Father’s Son” from “Kinky Boots” at the shoemaker T. O. Dey.

Tony Awards 2013: ‘Kinky Boots’ – In Performance | The New York Times

The New York Times invited Tony nominees to perform scenes on location in New York. Here, Billy Porter and Stark Sands sing “Not My Father’s Son” from “Kinky Boots” at the shoemaker T. O. Dey.

What all can you say about a legend like Cicely Tyson that hasn’t been said already. She is a consummate actress on stage and film. She has left a mark on this profession and anyone who gets the chance to see her and and her process in A Trip To Bountiful is privilged to witness such a milestone in her career. She is such a joy to watch. She walks around with an audience in the palm of her hand every night. Her performance on Broadway this year, after nearly 30 years away, screamed “Give me a Tony!” and she’s half way there. Tyson is nominated for (more…)

He’s worked with Whitney Houston in the movie the Preacher’s wife, and James Earl Jones on Broadway in August Wilson’s Fences. He recently returned back to Broadway after over 20 years. It seems as if he followed in the path of his wife, Angela Bassett, who returned to Broadway last season in The Mountaintop after many years. Only difference between the two is Vance has earned yet another Tony nomination for his work. Having been nominated 2 other times previously. For Nominee for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play, Vance works alongside another big box office name, Tom Hanks. He plays Hap Hairston the editor of the impulsive tabloid columnist Mike McAlary (Hanks). He holds his own ground but will it be enough to have him walk with the Tony? We can only hope. After all these years he deserves it.

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Other Awards For Courntey B. Vance in Lucky Guy

-2013 Drama League Nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award

LUCKY GUY: An Intimate Conversation with the Cast and Director

Tom Hanks, George C. Wolfe, and Courtney B. Vance discuss LUCKY GUY, Nora Ephron, Mike McAlary and New York City in the 80s & 90s.

Valisia LeKae started out in the church and made her way to Broadway. She’s had more than a little practice on Broadway with Motown being her 5th Broadway show. She has been seen previously in shows like Three Penny Oprea and Book of Mormon. In the new hit musical Motown she truly is Diana Ross. From the inflections in her voice to the gracefulness of her walk. It’s truly amazing to see someone just fall right into someone else’s skin so effortlessly. However, make no mistake, she is her own woman; Truly a star. Learn more about her in the Broadway.com video below.

Secrets of Tony Nominees! What Did “Motown”‘s Valisia LeKae Say Right After Getting Her First Nom?

Get tickets to “Motown The Musical”: http://www.broadway.com/shows/motown/ Learn a little about “Motown” breakout star Valisia LeKae, who she’s rooting for, and what went through her head the moment after she became a Tony nominee!

She’s reaching and out and touching so many lives with the musical journey that is Motown. She was born to play this role. All of her practice and patience has finally paid off. LeKae has to hear a symphony as she walks down the street (especially when she’s wearing ESOSA Fashions) now that she’s nominated for a 2013 Tony Award in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Other Awards For Valisia LeKae in Motown: The Musical:

-2013 Theatre World Award Winner
-2013 Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actress In A Musical
-2013 Drama League Nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award

TUNE IN FOR THE TONY AWARDS! JUNE 9TH ON CBS 8/7c! LIVE TWEET WITH US! @BROADWAYBLACK

Meet MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL’s Diana Ross, Valisia LeKae

Hear from MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL star Valisia LeKae about what it’s like to take on the entertainment icon, Diana Ross. For more information, visit http://MotownTheMusical.com MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever.

For the 2nd year in a row, Condola Rashad is nominated for the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Tony Award. Last year it was for the Alicia Keys produced Stick Fly and this year she is nominated for her role as Thelma in The Trip To Bountiful. Her work is recognized in this work over her Broadway veteran castmate Vanessa Williams who surprisingly did not receive a nomination. This could very well be her year to win. We think its safe to say she’s no longer up and coming. She’s here and her passion is clear. You can even hear it in her music.

She is the daughter of the phenomenal Phylicia Rashad, so, naturally she was raised in the theatre and it seems as though that’s where she’s going to be for a while. Rashad will return to Broadway in the fall.Orlando Bloom will join her in Romeo & Juliet

TUNE IN FOR THE TONY AWARDS! JUNE 9TH ON CBS 8/7c! LIVE TWEET WITH US! @BROADWAYBLACK