STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Cindy Hollinger grew up singing to the songs of The Temptations in Jackson, Miss., where she was born.
So Friday night in the Sun Valley Pavilion it was only natural that she would take her place dancing for two hours along to a brand new Temptations Tribute created for Sun Valley Opera by 42/7 Productions.
Taking her place alongside dozens of other, she sang along to “Cloud 9” and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” And she jumped to her feet and swayed along to “Just My Imagination” and others of the Temptations 42 Top Ten hits.
“ ‘My Girl’—that song reminds me of my first boyfriend, my first date, my first prom,” she said. “This is what I grew up with. It was all Motown and Elvis. And it brings memories of good times and innocent times.
Sun Valley Opera commissioned Tony Award-nominated co-producer Mike Evariste and choreographer Rickey Tripp to co-produce a Temptations tribute for its annual pops concert, which helps raise funds for its winter concerts.
“When we heard about the popularity of the previews of the new Broadway show. ‘Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations,’ we felt music lovers in our community would probably enjoy seeing a tribute of the Temptations’ music at the Pavilion,” said Sun Valley Opera Co-Founder Frank Meyer.
“But we looked at the touring tribute groups and did not find one with vibrant young men with the vocals and moves of the group when it became popular in the Sixties,” he added. “So we commissioned the New York production company 42/7 Productions to create what we thought our community would want. That meant finding professional dancers who happened to sing and act, as well.”
The five young professionals performing the roles showed up in the Pavilion two days before the concert to try out what they’d been rehearsing for several hours a day for the past two weeks.
“Bum de bum bum…five, six, seven, eight,” Tripp intoned, as the five went through their dance routines, softly singing the pieces so as not to stress their voices.
Every once in awhile, one of them would take a swipe out of bag of popcorn. “Oh yeah,” one rejoiced as they finished a song. He then grabbed one of his fellow singers and twirled him around in a joyous bout of ballroom dancing before they went on to the next song.
Come Friday night there was no horsing around. The five cut loose with their voices, earning praise from audience members for a sound that mirrored the Temptations they’d listened to on 78 rpms, 45 rpm singles and--gulp—8-track tapes.
They broke out the Temptations’ nifty hand moves and other slick coordinated moves as they twirled around in place. They exuded enough energy to power the purple/blue stage lights that cast their glow.
And, in an instant, a thousand people sitting in the audience were transported back to a time when Otis Williams took four young men from Detroit and honed their harmonies for six years until they finally had their big breakthrough on a 1966 American Bandstand show.
“This show is for you guys,” the man playing Otis Williams told the audience. “Sing along. Clap. Get up Dance. If you guys have fun, I promise you these guys will have fun.”
It took no prodding. Patti Meyer jumped up and started dancing away. She was joined on the terrace by Anna Camille Grilloni and Billy Smith.
And within minutes the audience was singing along to “Get Ready, Cuz Here I Come” interspersed with snatches of “My Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”
MMB Davis jumped out of her seat and cheered as one of the guys held a note in “For Once in my Life” for what seemed like forever.
And, then, despite all the admonitions not to, audience members from 8 to 80 began rushing the stage as the men on it sang “My Cherie Amour” “I Can’t Get Next to You” and the psychedelic soul of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Run Away Child, Running Wild.”
Pretty soon everyone was in a “world of love and harmony”—reminded of what had made the Temptations the No. 1 record seller in R&B history.
“Ohmigod, the show is insane,” said Marni Burns, there with Los Angeles Photographer Shaun Fenn who had spent the weekend shopping for a new home. “It reminds me of the Jersey Boys. I love how they not only sing the music but tell the story of how they came together and what was going on in the nation at the time they did.”
“Amazing show. So happy,” said Judy Meyer. “And they’re so talented.”
Meanwhile, Frank Meyer of the Sun Valley Opera was more than satisfied:
"These young men are at the top of their game. With their vocals and dance moves, I kept hoping the show wouldn't end."