Elijah Ahmad Lewis was excited and humbled to play the iconic Stevie Wonder in “Motown the Musical.”
“I was very honored to play the role because Stevie is still alive and living his legacy. I grew up on his music videos,” said Lewis who grew up in Harlem and is the son of the first Black female DJ to play on a New York City radio station. “Stevie was 12 when he started at Motown. I was nervous playing the character but it’s all good now. We try to embody the character and we give you the truth as we know it.”
“Motown the Musical” tells the true story behind the beats that broke down racial barriers, touched lives and changed the world. Based on Motown founder Berry Gordy’s book, “To Be Loved,” the story is told through the eyes and lives of such mega stars as Wonder, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye.
It features over 40 songs including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “My Girl,” “What’s Going On?” “Dancing in the Streets,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
“This is more than a musical it’s an experience,” Lewis said. “There’s nothing like the ‘Motown Sound’ and the untold love story between Berry Gordy and Diana Ross. Berry wasn’t making colored music, he was just making music to bring us all together and make people feel like one.
“He challenged his artists to stand up and be something more than just singers so that’s why some of the artists are the icons that you see today,” continued Lewis. “I want young people today to see that the music they hear today comes from Motown. The younger generation who sees the show will get a great history lesson.”
“Motown the Musical” played a limited, but sold-out engagement at Heinz Hall from Dec. 30, 2014 to Jan. 4, 2015 as part of the PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh series. The show will continue to tour the United States before jumping across the pond to London in the spring of 2016 and making its much anticipated return to Broadway in July of 2016.
“The show has been doing really, really well and it’s been really, really well received,” said Lewis who joined the touring cast last March in Chicago. “Everyone’s expectations are high. Things that are prevalent in today’s society like racism, and all of the shooting that has been occurring was taking place back then and the artists on Motown dealt with those issues.”
When Lewis isn’t performing, he enjoys blogging and traveling across the United States tasting his favorite food, Mac and Cheese. His blog, Your mac my fork, takes Lewis and several of his “Motown” friends to many of America’s restaurants in search of the best tasting and most interesting combinations of the creamy comfort food.
In addition, Lewis has his own t-shirt line and does graphic design and he does graphic design for some of his “Motown The Musical” cast members.
“We’re a huge family and we help each other,” Lewis said
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