BROADWAY BALANCES AMERICA, BROUGHT
TO YOU BY BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA.
BRINGING THE BEST OF BROADWAY TO A CITY NEAR YOU.
OKAY TIME NOW FOR OUR LAST INSTALLMENT
OF BROADWAY BALANCES AMERICA.
OUR SERIES THAT TAKES YOU BEHIND THE
SCENES OF SOME OF THE MOST BELOVED
BROADWAY MUSICALS AS THEY TRAVEL ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO A STAGE
NEAR YOU.
IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN.
TODAY, BALANCING ACT CORRESPONDENT,
AMBER MILT IS, "STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE"
(SINGING IN UNISON) GOSH, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO
THAT.
WE'RE NOT VERY GOOD, BUT WE TRIED, OKAY?
AS SHE LEARNS HOW THE LEGENDARY BERRY
GORDY TURNED HIS LIFE AND HIS LOVE OF
MUSIC INTO A HUGE BROADWAY HIT.
YES, AND WHAT BEGAN AS ONE MAN'S STORY
BECAME EVERYBODY'S MUSIC.
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL IS NOW HITTING THE
ROAD AND AMBER, WE UNDERSTAND THAT
YOU LEARNED JUST WHAT IT'S LIKE TO
BECOME A SUPREME.
THAT'S RIGHT LADIES.
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL IS THE TRUE AMERICAN DREAM STORY OF MOTOWN
FOUNDER, BERRY GORDY'S JOURNEY FROM
FEATHER WEIGHT BOXER TO HEAVY WEIGHT
MUSIC MOGUL.
HE LAUNCHED THE CAREERS
OF DIANA ROSS, MICHAEL JACKSON, SMOKEY ROBINSON AND SO MANY
MORE.
AND SO I DECIDED TO MAKE A SUPREME
EFFORT TO SEE WHAT GOES IN TO TRANSFORMING INTO ONE OF THESE
LEGENDARY SINGERS.
(MUSIC) ALL RIGHT GUYS, SO WE'RE BACK
STAGE AT MOTOWN.
WE'RE RIGHT OUTSIDE OF
KRYSTAL JOY BROWN'S DRESSING ROOM.
SHE PLAYS THE LEGENDARY DIANA ROSS.
LET'S GO INSIDE AND SEE WHAT WE'VE GOT.
(KNOCKING) HI.
HI.
HOW ARE YOU?
IT'S SO GREAT TO MEET YOU.
OH, IT'S SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
COME INTO MY SHRINE; TO DIANA.
-OH MY GOODNESS.
THIS IS LIKE A PALACE IN HERE.
(LAUGHTER) OH AND LOOKS, IT'S THE DIRECTOR
CHARLES.
OH.
YEAH.
HI.
HOW NICE TO MEET YOU.
GREAT TO MEET YOU.
(MUSIC) I'VE GOTTA' ASK, DIANA ROSS WAS
NAMED ENTERTAINER OF THE CENTURY BY BILLBOARD MAGAZINE.
SHE BROKE THROUGH SO MANY BARRIERS IN
TERMS OF IT BEING AN ALL MALE
INDUSTRY.
MOSTLY MALE DOMINATED INDUSTRY.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO PORTRAY THIS ICONIC FIGURE?
SHE REPRESENTS SO MANY THINGS TO ME;
HER FEMINISM, HER ABILITY TO BE SO
STRONG AND STILL SEXY AND FEMININE,
IS SOMETHING THAT ALL WOMEN NOW, ALL POP STARS, ALL WOMEN ARE
STILL TRYING TO EMULATE.
SO ME HAVING THE
ABILITY TO JUST DO THAT 8 SHOWS A WEEK
AND HOPEFULLY DO HER JUSTICE, IS A
DREAM COME TRUE.
(MUSIC-JACKSON 5 'OH BABY GIVE ME ONE
MORE CHANCE') YOU ARE PUTTING ON EIGHT SHOWS A
WEEK.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLY DEMANDING INDUSTRY,
HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO BALANCE YOUR LIFE?
THIS IS MY SECOND APARTMENT AND IT'S DEFINITELY A FUN KIND OF
SITUATION WHERE I GET TO COME AND DO THE SHOW BUT THEN ALSO
GET TO GO OUT AND DO EVENTS AND MEET LOTS OF PEOPLE.
SO, IT'S A FINE LINED BALANCE OF A 'NORMAL'
LIFE.
I DON'T KNOW IF BROADWAY IS EVER A NORMAL LIFE BUT IT'S,
UMMM, IT'S AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE.
INTERESTING BALANCE.
EVERYTHING'S A BALANCING ACT, ESPECIALLY ON BROADWAY.
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SORT OF WALK AWAY, WHO'VE
COME TO SEE MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, WHAT DO YOU WANT THEM TO WALK
AWAY AND FEEL?
THAT YOU CAN DREAM AND DO ANYTHING
YOU WANT.
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE FROM SMALL TOWN AMERICA AND YOU
THINK, 'I CAN'T DO THIS.
I CAN'T BE THIS', MOTOWN'S ABOUT
DREAMING.
IT'S ABOUT REALLY GOING FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN AND THAT YOU
CAN DO IT.
(THE TEMPTATIONS SINGING- GET READY, 'CUZ HERE I COME)
IT BEGAN AS ONE MAN'S STORY, BECAME EVERYONE'S MUSIC AND NOW
EVERYONE AN ENJOY.
I ALWAYS THINK OF MOTOWN AS A MOVEMENT.
IT'S NOT JUST MUSIC.
IT'S A MOVEMENT, PHYSICALLY IT'S IN
THE COSTUMES THAT YOU SAY AND IN IT'S MUSIC, IN IT'S POLITIC AND
ALL OF IT.
IT REALLY, LITERALLY CHANGED
THE WORLD.
AND I LOVE TO SEE THAT
WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN.
(MUSIC) KRYSTAL TRANSFORMS INTO DIANA
EIGHT TIMES A WEEK AND I'M ABOUT TO GET ONE SHOT AT BECOMING A
SUPREME.
BUT FIRST, THE INSPIRATION
BEHIND THE COSTUMES.
TELL ME ABOUT THESE INCREDIBLE DRESSES HERE.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?
WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT, THE MOTOWN LEGACY
IS MORE THAN JUST THE MUSIC.
IT INVOLVES
THE CLOTHING.
MOTOWN NOT ONLY CHANGED
THE WAY PEOPLE LOOKED AT MUSIC BUT
IT ALSO CHANGED THE WAY THAT PEOPLE
OF COLOR WERE LOOKED AT BY THE WORLD.
BECAUSE THE MOTOWN PHILOSOPHY WAS
NOT JUST MUSIC, BUT HOW YOU DRESSED.
HOW YOU ACT, HOW YOU INTERVIEWED, AND
CLOTHING WAS A HUGE PART OF THAT.
(MUSIC - DO YOU LOVE ME) SO IS ONE OF THESE YOUR
FAVORITE?
IF YOU CAN EVEN PICK A FAVORITE OUT OF ALL OF THESE?
WELL, YOU KNOW, PICKING FAVORITES
IS LIKE PICKING YOUR CHILDREN.
RIGHT.
YOU REALLY DON'T WANT THEM TO KNOW.
RIGHT, OKAY.
ARE YOU A FAVORITE, SHHHHHH.
HA-HA (LAUGHTER) BUT FOR ME, MY FAVORITE REALLY,
IS THIS RED BEADED DRESS.
IT'S FROMT HE NUMBER FOR 'REMEMBER
ME' WHEN SHE BREAKS AWAY FROM MOTOWN AND
BECOMES THE DIANA ROSS THAT WORLD
LOVES AND THE ICONIC KNOWN.
BUT WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HIS DRESS IS
THAT IT TAKES ABOUT FOUR WEEKS JUST TO BEAD THE FABRIC.
OH MY GOODNESS.
EACH BEAD IS DONE INDIVIDUALLY.
THERE'S OVER 100,000 BEADS IN THIS DRESS, ALL HAND DONE.
I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED DONNING A GLAMOUROUS DRESS LIKE THIS
AND CHANNELING MY INNER-POP STAR.
ESPECIALLY BECAUSE MOTOWN WIGS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART.
(MUSIC) OKAY HEATHER, SO THAT WIG ROOM
WAS PHENOMENAL.
YES.
HOW MANY WIGS ARE IN THE SHOW?
THERE ARE, UMMM, ON STAGE EVERY NIGHT WE PUT ABOUT 150 WIGS
ON STAGE, BUT WE DO HAVE ABOUT 350 WIGS IN THE THEATER BECAUSE
ALL THE UNDERSTUDIES HAVE THEIR OWN WIGS AS WELL.
BECAUSE EACH WIG IS CUSTOM MADE FOR EACH
ACTOR.
SO LACE FRONT, HUMAN HAIR WIG CUSTOM MADE TO FIT THEIR HAIR
LINE AND THEIR HEAD SIZE AND THEIR
HEAD SHAPE AND THE RIGHT HAIR COLOR.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT 450 WIGS.
SO WHEN YOU PUT ON A WIG, DO YOU FEEL LIKE A DIFFERENT WOMAN?
ABSOLUTELY, EVEN NOW, JUST SITTING
HERE, I'M LIKE, 'OH, THIS IS DIANA WHEN SHE'S BECOME A LADY
AND SHE'S A REAL PERFORMER NOW'.
RIGHT.
IT'S THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW AND NOW
IT JUST NEED MORE FINESSE.
AND YOU
JUST NATURALLY, WHEN YOU PUT IT ON,
YOU'LL FEEL IT IN YOUR NECK, YOUR
BODY JUST FEELS DIFFERENT.
OKAY, THERE.
WE WILL SLIDE IT BACK SO WE CAN SEE YOUR
FACE.
HA-HA.
IT LOOKS GREAT ON YOU!
ALL RIGHT, MAYBE I WAS BORN IN THE WRONG ERA.
(LAUGHTER) LET'S GO OUT THERE AND
SHOW 'EM OUR MOVES.
ALL RIGHT.
LET'S SEE THIS HAIR LADIES.
LET'S GO SUPREME IT UP.
WE MIGHT BE HIRING A NEW SUPREME.
HA-HA (LAUGHTER) (MUSIC)
YEAH!
TA DA!
(APPLAUSE) (CHEERS) (LAUGHTER) THEY ARE CALLED SUPREMES
FOR A REASON.
I FEEL AMAZING, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THIS IS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE.
AND OF COURSE, WE'VE GOTTA' GIVE 'EM A LITTLE SOMETHING; A LITTLE
SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE AT HOME.
YES.
(SINGING-STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE,
BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART, THINK IT
OH-OH-VER) OH MY GOODNESS GUYS, THANK YOU
SO MUCH.
THIS IS JUST INCREDIBLE.
BEAUTIFUL COSTUMES, THANK YOU.
I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE A SHOW TO GET READY
FOR BUT, AHHH, THIS HAS JUST BEEN A
DREAM COME TRUE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK I'M GOING TO LEAVE ALL THOSE QUICK CHANGES
AND TRANSFORMATIONS TO THE
PROFESSIONALS BUT WASN'T IT FUN TO GO BACK
STAGE AND STEP INTO THE WORLD OF
MOTOWN?
YOU TOO CAN GROOVE TO THE BEAT AS MOTOWN THE MUSICAL CONTINUES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
JUST HEAD TO OUR WEBSITE, CLICK ON THE
BROADWAY BALANCES AMERICA LINK, WHERE WE'LL HAVE ALL OF THE SHOW
INFORMATION, TOUR DATES AND MORE.
(MUSIC) (APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (MUSIC)
OH MY WORD!
HOW GREAT DID AMBER LOOK AS A SUPREME?
AMAZING.
I LOVE IT.
JULIE SINGING, THINK IT OH-OH-VER.
REALLY SUPER JOB.
I'M NOT 'GONNA SING ANY MORE.
WONDERFUL SERIES.
I'M GONNA' BRING THAT WIG OVER HERE AND HAVE YOU SING.
HA-HA (LAUGHTER) REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT OUR
WEBSITE, THEBALANCINGACT.COM
GREAT INFORMATION THERE FOR YA.
AND DON'T FORGET FACEBOOK AND TWITTER; LOOK US UP.
WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN SOON AND REMEMBER, FIND YOUR BALANCE.
I'LL TAKE A PICTURE OF YOU WITH THE WIG AND I'LL TWITTER
IT.