them that he would only stay for
10 minutes and, three hours later,
he was still there. That’s always
been the case. There I was with
best friends 1 and 1A. It’s always a
wonderous night when I can share
it with B.G.”
Back in 1966, when Berger
was 27, Gordy hired Berger to
run the Motown Records Los
Angeles office. Gordy was initially
skeptical of the “White, Jewish
particularly” guy — a line that
would eventually end up in the
award-winning musical Ain’t Too
Proud: The Life and Times of the
Temptations, which features the
Shelly Berger character.
In fact, after wondering how
Berger could possibly make good
on all his production promises,
Gordy told his Jewish lawyer,
Ralph Seltzer, “Berger’s either
the biggest liar or he’s on drugs,”
recalls Berger. “But on a Las Vegas
trip for two weeks, that’s when the
love affair started with B.G.”
Reassured of Berger’s talents,
Gordy gave Berger the opportuni-
ty to manage the Temptations and
Diana Ross and the Supremes.
And the rest is literal history.

BRINGING IT “HOME”
On Aug. 10, during a red-carpet
premiere at the Detroit Opera
House, Williams and Berger final-
ly — after the pandemic delay
— brought their Ain’t Too Proud
musical home to the Motown-
loving crowd. Joining the duo in
the celebration was award-win-
ning playwright and Detroit native
Dominique Morisseau who wrote
the book for Ain’t Too Proud.
Based on Williams’ 1988 mem-
oir, Ain’t Too Proud follows the
Temptations’ incredible journey
from the streets of Detroit to
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The show features many of the
Temptations’ 42 Top 10 hits and
Tony award-winning choreogra-
phy by Sergio Trujillo.
“This show was the culmination
of many years of dreaming and

working and putting it together.
We were extremely successful
when it ran on Broadway, but
you’ve got to make it in your own
hometown. And Detroit had an
extra-special meaning that night,”
said Berger, who attended the pre-
miere with his daughter, Linda, a
casting director.
While not at the premiere,
Berger’s son, Josh, is a producer
on Ain’t Too Proud. And although
Berry Gordy didn’t attend Josh’s
bris over 56 years ago, Gordy is
Josh’s godfather.
“
Anything that my kids are
involved in is very, very important
to me,” Berger says. “Motown is
very important to Josh, and when
we started working on this proj-
ect, he very much wanted to be a
part of it.”
Berger had day-to-day involve-
ment with the creation of Ain’t
Too Proud, including meetings
with Morisseau to discuss Berger’s
history and friendship with
Williams, Gordy and life with
Motown. Berger also meets with
each actor who plays the Shelly
Berger character to discuss life
through the Motown experi-
ence. On this first national tour,
Reed Campbell, a University of
Michigan acting grad, plays Shelly
Berger.
“Watching the show is kind of
an out-of-body experience,” says
Berger, who’s seen Ain’t Too Proud
about 150 times. “Shelly Berger is
not me; it’s a character in a play
about the Temptations. It’s not a
documentary; it’s an entertain-
ment piece. I love to have the
audience feel the emotions that
people have felt for 56 years when
they watch this group and the
human feeling and the toll that it
took to happen.
“From my perspective, the
greatest part of my life has been
being involved with Otis and the
Temptations and Berry Gordy and
Motown,” adds Berger. “The great-
est joy of my life is to be able to
achieve what we have achieved.”

DETAILS

Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and
Times of The Temptations will be
performed at the Detroit Opera
House through Aug. 28. Tickets are
available online at Ticketmaster.
com, by phone at (800) 982-2787
or in person at the Fisher Theatre
Box Office. For more information,
go to www.broadwayindetroit.com.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BROADWAY IN DETROIT

Ain’t Too Proud runs at the Detroit Opera
House through Aug. 28.

PHOTO BY MEG DARKET

The Temptations’ longtime manager Shelly Berger and group
founder Otis Williams on the red carpet at the Detroit Opera
House.

AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 73

PHOTO BY MEG DARKET