Content note: brief references to suicide, racism, addiction, gender essentialism, and chronic illness.
A friend invited me to join her and her two kids at the show. With this being a jukebox musical, she had expected some hits and a smidgeon of plot. The book was based on Eddie*'s memoir of the group. The show, as the subtitle might lead you to believe attempts to chronicle the formation, founding and the struggles and successes of a group with a multi-decade career.
As such it kinda speedruns through a lot of information, and if your kids are at the "why" stage, there's a lot of room for why questions.
In some ways the show reminded me of "Bohemian Rhapsody", not because Queen and The Temptations are comparable groups, but because when the folks left alive to tell the story are in charge of the narrative, it favors them.
Now, I do not know more about the inner working of The Temptations than Otis does. But the show posits that he became the leader, even as the other characters keep telling him he's not in charge, they are supposed to be a group.
Summarizing a multi-decade career while also making time to sing about twenty songs, in the length of a musical is always going to be a nearly impossible task. But were there entertaining songs and fun choreography? Yes, absolutely.
But if you or anyone you are going to the show with has a lot of why questions, probably make time to skim some Temptations history too, either before or after the show.
