'Motown the Musical' to Broadway: 'I'll Be There' again

NEW YORK -- We've heard it through the grapevine: "Motown the Musical" is coming back to Broadway.

Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and producer Kevin McCollum said Monday that the musical that tells the story of how the record label rose and fell and then rose again will return to New York starting in July for an 18-week stand.

McCollum said the show has gotten stronger since opening on Broadway two years ago, and Gordy has been sharpening the story.

The show is on tour and will play the holidays in Washington, D.C. Early next year, it hits Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio and Wisconsin, among other places. It also plays the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End in February.

McCollum, whose shows include "Something Rotten!" and "Hand to God," said the "Motown" creators have tinkered with the musical since it left Broadway, something not possible in New York.

For his part, Gordy said: "We tweaked a lot of stuff and the road show got tighter and tighter. And now it's coming back to Broadway and we're very happy about that because that's where it started. It was raw, and they accepted us and loved us, and so we're so excited to get back to where it started when it was rough."