Ross stepped on stage in a white sheath gown, flashed her pearly whites at the crowd and sang out, “Here I am!” Christiansen recorded. It featured an impressive production: “a 32-piece orchestra, three backup singers, a trio of mimes, assorted scaffolding and ladders to hold all these bodies, a battery of light stanchions, 173,000 watts of power for the light and audio equipment, a trunkful of costumes, a cadre of plainclothes security guards and enough producers, personal managers, agents, talent representatives and publicists to start up a new world’s fair,” Chicago Daily News reviewer Richard Christiansen wrote for the next day’s paper. For showtimes, go to it’s no surprise that both critics and fans expected a flashy show, and “An Evening with Diana Ross” did not disappoint. 13 at the Straz Center, 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. Motown the Musical runs Tuesday through Aug. The real Diana Ross, 73, is also on tour - she came to Clearwater in June - and still selling out concerts. 'When I watch and study her performing, I see a sparkling thing wanting to be loved by all the people, a sparkling and an innocence.' Semmes also sees a sadness in the superstar, at least in those ingenue years. 'That elegance was part of the Motown factor.' 'Diana was the artist young black girls saw who portrayed elegance,' Semmes said. She's well aware that Ross didn't sell 100 million records worldwide on her voice alone. Semmes, a classically trained Chicago native, earned a degree in opera at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then a master's at New York University-Steinhardt.

'They didn't really want us to imitate these people but to capture the essence,' Semmes said.Īs one of producer Berry Gordy's biggest discoveries - and his romantic interest - Ross factors heavily into a star-studded storyline that includes Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

Diana ross lyric opera house