Costume Designer Esosa Talks Motown Style
Even if you're not a musical person, I'd wager to say you'll like Motown the Musical, which opened on Broadway this week. The show, written by Motown creator Berry Gordy, goes at breakneck speed through five decades of Motown history (including Gordy's childhood) and through 50 of Motown's greatest hits. You're bound to hear one or 20 songs you know by heart, and at the show I attended, singing along was encouraged. With a score that encompasses hits from The Supremes, The Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye (the list goes on and on), you'd think it would be hard to focus on much else--the story, the costumes, the set. The New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood justly faults the show for prioritizing the music over storytelling (though when the music is this good, you can see why the producers would want to cram it all in there). But Motown was a style as well as a sound. And the task of creating the costumes for the show, which sparkled extra bright thanks to a sponsorship from Swarovski, fell to Tony Award nominated costume designer--and Project Runway Season 7 runner-up--Esosa.