Martin and Motown: Production explores King’s legacy through music

Martin Luther King Jr. and Berry Gordy were each born in 1929.

Both Black men helped shape the 1960s, King with his marches and powerful oratory and Gordy as the founder of the Motown record label.

They became connected in fascinating ways. Many don’t know, for example, that King allowed Motown to record a speech in Detroit in June 1963 at what would become known as the Walk to Freedom. King’s speech that day included the refrain “I have a dream” for the first time, foreshadowing the famous speech he gave that August during the March on Washington.

“They both became appreciative of what each other was doing,” said Debora Wondercheck, the founder and CEO of the Costa Mesa-based Arts & Learning Conservatory. “MLK respected the fact that Berry’s music was bridging.”

As the country gets ready to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Wondercheck has put together her own celebration. “Music of the March: A Tribute to Rev. Dr. King Jr. and the Motown Sound,” an original performance, will take place Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at UC Irvine’s Barclay Theatre.

“Music of the March,” a musical tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, will feature David Greene playing Motown music executive Berry Gordy and is an original production of Debora Wondercheck.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The production, two hours in length with an intermission, is an accurate journey through American history. It explores the transformative decade of change that the 1960s was through the transcendent music of the time.

“What was on my heart was to bridge the community and give everyone a call of action,” said Wondercheck, the executive director and producer who commissioned the work to be written. “A sense of responsibility, a celebration and then a call of action. The audience will hear march music, which was originally in the church as gospel music and they changed the lyrics for marching. You’re also going to hear Motown music.”

William Kevin Broxton, a Lake Forest resident, takes on the role of King. He said he conducted a lot of research on the man. Growing up in Florida, Broxton said King was a big part of his upbringing.

“For me, it was an absolute honor to be able to take this time to portray him, to honor him in this way,” Broxton said. “He was always a king, literally by his last name. But being a king in title is very different from walking a king’s route, especially from a place of servant leadership. That’s who he was, a servant leader. It wasn’t that he was fearless. He was terrified at times, for him and his family, and he did it anyway because he couldn’t see an outcome where things would change if he didn’t.”

Cast members rehearse for “Music of the March” at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim on Thursday.

(Courtesy of Arts and Learning Conservatory)

David Greene, who lives in Costa Mesa, was cast as Gordy and brings his own spin to the part. He was born in Detroit, and his mother worked for Gordy at Motown for a year. His grandfather played stand-up bass for influential jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Count Basey.

Greene said the amount of new musical talent that Motown ushered in was profound — but that also brought new feelings of frustration that interlinked with King’s message.

“We can be headliners, we can be A-listers,” said Greene, who also serves as the show’s narrator. “Why are we not being included in certain venues or why do we have to jump through these hoops? We are on the marquee, but we have to walk through the back door. What is that about? That made zero sense to me. It took me a long time to understand that, especially growing up in Detroit and seeing so many people of color.”

The production also has a preshow drumming concert, “Rhythms of Freedom,” that is free to the public. That special event, a collaboration between the Orange County Musicians Union and the Arts and Learning Conservancy, will be held in the lobby of the Barclay Theatre and feature the renowned “The Lion King” drummers.

William Kevin Broxton will play Martin Luther King Jr. in the inaugural production of “Music of the March” at UC Irvine’s Barclay Theatre.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Guests are asked to reserve their free tickets for the drumming show online at artsandlearning.org/rhythmsoffreedom.

The production team for “Music of the March: A Tribute to Rev. Dr. King Jr. and the Motown Sound” is all Black females, Wondercheck noted, and she’s proud of that fact.

“We wanted the voice of what was being told to be 100% authentic and presented from the voice of the African American, who can truly relay the message more accurately from an emotional standpoint as well as artistically,” she said.

Broxton said the show will be both fun and informative. It features actors portraying other musical icons of the time, like Diana Ross and the Supremes and Aretha Franklin.

Cast members rehearse the signature Motown song “Dancing in the Street” on Thursday at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim.

(Courtesy of Arts and Learning Conservatory)

“Everyone is putting in the work to make a show where people walk out like, ‘OK, this was an experience,’” Broxton said. “We wanted to be entertaining, we wanted to be impactful, we wanted to be thought-provoking. I think we’ve built in all of those elements, not only with the script but with the performance.”

Tickets for the show start at $35 and can be purchased through the Arts & Learning Conservatory or Barclay Theatre websites.