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Motown: Good music, good company make the world go away
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Published: June 29, 2008
Laughter is an instant vacation.
-- Milton Berle
We were taking a break from the external happenings in the world, sitting inside the Barn Dinner Theatre in Greensboro, laughing, eating and enjoying the performance of Love Machine, The Musical: Celebrating Classic Motown & Soul. The combination of good food, good people and good music contributed to an enjoyable evening of fun.
It appeared others were getting away from it all as well, to celebrate the weekend, an anniversary, a birthday and for some, just a night out to have fun with the girls. One large group came out to wish a family member happy birthday. He is 61 years young now and enjoying it. A smaller group of four met up to celebrate a couple's 27th wedding anniversary. "I enjoyed the music the most," the wife said, reminiscing about the '70s sounds. And then there was the group of women out just to have a plain ol' good time. And they did, laughing without caring and having big fun.
It is easy to have a great time when you hang out with people you like, and have the opportunity to develop deeper relationships, listen to good music and laugh so hard you clap your hands repeatedly as tears roll down your cheeks.
Laughter is good for the soul. It's therapeutic. The food, a buffet to satisfy almost any taste, was good, too. Good food and good people create an environment for good conversation.
My wife and I had the opportunity to find out some interesting things about the couple we sat with. We listened with interest as the husband shared stories about growing up and attending the local schools, and about how he met his wife. He is an interesting conversationalist. We laughed, ate, talked some more and repeated the process until it was show time. We enjoyed the fellowship. It was as if we were in our own little world.
The theater's announcer (MC) acknowledged birthdays and anniversaries before the performance, producing a lot of laughter and enjoyment, too. He's good. He engages people and makes them feel special while laughing, a lot, with and at them. A couple, married 43 years, were recognized and asked about their secret to a successful marriage. According to the husband, two words: "Yes, ma'am!" Smart man. Another couple, married 61 years, won the prize for longevity. Their secret: to kiss like they did the day they were married. And they did, to much applause and surprise.
And all of this action took place before the show. It would only get better as the cast took us back to the Motown sound and the songs we still know the words to, remembering what we were doing at a moment many years ago. You may remember some of the tunes too, like "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," "Heatwave," "Please Mr. Postman," "My Girl" or Steve Wonder's "Ribbon in The Sky."
Interaction between the cast and the audience produced a lot of laughter and fun, too. An elementary-school principal jammed with Sweet Daddy, one of the main characters of several in the routine. One woman, a more than willing participant, enjoyed every moment in the spotlight. Like the title of one of the songs, she could "Shake a Tail Feather." There was no shame in her game.
One of those songs took me back to my college days at Livingstone in the early '70s. It is a classic hit by the Temptations, "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone." The song was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973. It was ranked 168 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It's a tune you identify after a few notes, and you are ready to sing along: "It was the third of September. That day I'll always remember, yes I will. 'Cause that was the day that my daddy died."
Ahh, yeah! That was back in the day when we had real music and words you could understand, the day of bell-bottom pants, Afros and eight-track tapes. I played a few of them in my blue 1964 Corvair. I would love to have that car today. Yes, it was a fun time. Good people, laughter, good food and music that takes you back in time. After the hugs, kisses and goodbyes, it was back to the real world.
■ Nigel Alston is a Dale Carnegie trainer and motivational speaker. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.
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