Oklahoman Michael Andreaus leading tour of Temptations musical 'Ain't Too Proud'
For the better part of two years, Michael Andreaus has toured the country covering some of the most iconic radio hits of all time, from “My Girl" and “Just My Imagination" to “Get Ready" and “Ain't Too Proud to Beg."
And the University of Central Oklahoma alumnus ain't too proud to admit how much he loves it.
"It's a dream come true to be able to perform this type of music every day. ... These are songs that I grew up with: 'My Girl' is probably one of the first Temptations songs that I heard and just recognized the greatness of it. But over the course of my lifetime, I've heard all of these songs at one point or another, so getting to sing the songs is great," Andreaus told The Oklahoman by phone from the road in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Even better than getting to sing them is just seeing the looks on people's faces in the audience and seeing them recognize this music and sing along and dance in their chairs."
A Moore High School graduate, Andreaus stars in the national tour of the hit Broadway musical "Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations," which traces the legendary R&B vocal group’s journey from Detroit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The jukebox musical is playing Oklahoma City Aug. 15-20 at Civic Center Music Hall, where it is the opening show on OKC Broadway's 2023-2024 season.
Oklahoma actor stars as The Temptations' founder in 'Ain't Too Proud' national tour
Andreaus has been on the "Ain't Too Proud" national tour since it launched in December 2021. Now playing the lead role of Otis Williams, the founder and last surviving original member of The Temptations, he is thrilled to bring the Tony Award-winning show to OKC for the first time.
"This is the first national tour that I've been a part of ... and the fact that I get to tell the story on this large of a stage to the community that I grew up in, I'm just really, really excited," said Andreaus, who has performed in Lyric Theatre's productions of "Rock of Ages," Disney's "When You Wish" and "Moonlight Cabaret" as well as in Ava DuVernay's Emmy-winning Netflix series "When They See Us."
"My church friends, the friends I went to school with, friends I went to college with, friends I performed with and family ... it's going to all come together. I'm sure it's gonna be like a big family reunion."
Andreaus recently spoke with The Oklahoman about growing up in Oklahoma, playing a real-life R&B icon and learning the show's Tony-winning choreography:
Q: You've been on the 'Ain't Too Proud' tour for a long time. What has kept you going with it?
Andreaus: Even before I was in it, I was a huge fan of this show. I had seen it several times on Broadway. ... When I started out, I was playing (Motown Records founder) Berry Gordy ... and covering Otis.
Then, I took over as Otis full time starting in January. ... It's like being on a new tour almost, getting to play a whole new role, even though I was familiar with it.
Q: Have you had the chance to meet Otis Williams?
Andreaus: Yes, I have actually met Otis several times. He was part of our rehearsal process, and then has come out several times on the road to see us and check in and have sit-downs with us.
He's let us know what it was like to be on the road with the guys and just his experience in forming this group. ... He's a really great, humble guy and always so generous with his time with us. So, we've been able to learn a lot from him.
Q: How has it been to play a real person whose life is so entwined in this narrative?
Andreaus: It definitely adds a layer of responsibility. ... Whenever you're playing a role of somebody that's fictional, you have a little bit more leeway to just create whatever is in your head. But when you're playing somebody that's real, that is alive, and has real experiences ... you want to draw as much on them as you can.
I don't ever like to think of myself as copying or pretending to be anybody. But you definitely want to take as many of their aspects and as many of the things of their character that you can pick up and use and merge that with your own to make it as authentic to real life and their experience as possible.
I want to make sure that I'm that I'm honoring him and the legacy that he created with this group ... and doing him justice every night.
Q: This musical won a Tony for its choreography, how is it making those moves?
Andreaus: The moves are a lot of fun. They're challenging. Dance is something that I came to later in life, let me just put it that way. .... The thing that I love about the dance is that, yes, it's a lot of moves that The Temptations did. But a lot of the dance we get to do contributes to the story that we're telling as well.
There are times when you're doing dances as if you're in a concert setting. But then sometimes the dance just comes out of the emotion of whatever the scene is as well. So, some of the dances are just fun to do, and some of them are really intense. But all of it is great and ties in so well to the overall narrative of the show.
Q: How has being from Oklahoma influenced your career as a performer?
Andreaus: I moved to Oklahoma when I was a sophomore in high school. ... I was born in Atlanta, but my dad was in the Air Force and he got stationed at Tinker (Air Force Base). Once we moved to Oklahoma, we figured that was home and put our roots down. So, that's where my family is, and that's where my heart is. It's in Oklahoma, for sure.
My first lead in an indie film was shot there. It was actually shot during the pandemic. It's called 'Finding Carlos,' and I got to play one of the lead roles. ... I often come back and get the opportunity to speak at UCO and do master classes and things like that. ... There's nothing that replaces having a home base, and I'm grateful that Oklahoma is that for me.
'AIN'T TOO PROUD '
When: Aug. 15-20.
Where: Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker.
Tickets: https://www.okcbroadway.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma actor on tour in The Temptations musical 'Ain't Too Proud'
