Kenny Gamble to make 'The Sound of Philadelphia' musical

AMONG THOSE who took in the touring production of "Motown The Musical" when it played the Academy of Music last month was Kenny Gamble, who, along with Leon Huff and Thom Bell, made the Philadelphia International Records label a music powerhouse in the 1970s.

So, it was pretty much a no-brainer to ask Gamble about a "Motown"-style musical based on PIR's prodigious catalog of soul and R&B hits, universally tagged "The Sound of Philadelphia."

We are happy to report that Gamble answered in the affirmative.

"We've had quite a few people approach us that are interested in doing the Philly International program as a musical, so I'm excited about it," Gamble said, during a recent phone chat.

However, "we're just exploring things," he said. "We're in the conceptual stages."

It's certainly no surprise that "Motown The Musical" would jump-start the PIR project. As Gamble unabashedly admitted, he and his partners have always followed in the groundbreaking footsteps of Berry Gordy Jr.

"Motown is our inspiration," he said. "We took the Motown blueprint to form [Philadelphia International]. Motown opened the way for young African-Americans like myself and my partners . . . So, we look to Motown as a beacon of light.

"Once again, Motown is a trailblazer. They're opening the way."

When it comes to musical theater, Gamble and his team actually beat "Motown The Musical" to the punch by more than a decade. In 2001, a play called "Me & Mrs. Jones" premiered at Center City's Prince Music Theatre - at the time, exclusively an incubator for new musicals.

Taking its cue (and title) from Billy Paul's 1972 smash hit, the show concerned a philandering Philadelphia judge (played by soul crooner Lou Rawls) and his affair with a lawyer, portrayed by "Star Search" champ Nita Whitaker. Sixties pop-rock icon Darlene Love played Rawls' wife.

Although the piece garnered favorable reviews locally, it never got beyond two Prince runs in 2001 and 2002.

"It needed a lot of work," reasoned Gamble, who yesterday was announced as co-winner (with Comcast co-founder, Ralph, and his wife, Suzanne Roberts) of the 2014 Philadelphia Award.

"It just didn't pan out right. We just didn't think 'Me & Mrs. Jones' was a great story for the music.

"And a lot of [that show's] success was that you had a guy like Lou Rawls in it, who would draw people anyway . . . The play should be able to stand up on its own."

While Gamble wouldn't divulge the new show's scenario, he did drop some pretty big hints.

"I think the strength of Philly International and Gamble, Huff and Bell was the music - the quality of the songs," he said, referring to such signatures as "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes), "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (McFadden & Whitehead) and Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."

Unlike "Motown," which keys on the personal and professional relationships of Gordy and his biggest star, Diana Ross, Gamble acknowledged that the Philly International story "is not based around one individual or any one artist. It's based around a concept of unity and brotherhood, and working together, and how we competed with each other to write great songs.

"I think that's really the story of Philly International - starting at the bottom, working together as a team and reaching success in the music industry. I think people will be interested in knowing where that body of music called 'the Philly sound' came from and what went on."

We're in! When can we buy tickets?

Gamble counseled patience.

"I'd like to see it take shape as soon as it's ready," he said. "But there's no rush. Once you put it out there, you can't take it back."

A play about a woman whose rage and resentment at losing her son to AIDS in the days when it was decimating gay communities around the country could have been a preachy and grim affair.

But superstar author Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons" deftly avoids becoming a tsunami of bile and depression.

Instead, Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of the 90-minute, one-act piece that runs through March 8 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre is, despite its basic themes, a deep, touching and often funny piece that bears a surprising lightness.

The cast contributes mightily to the success of the play, which had its 2013 world premiere at New Hope's Bucks County Playhouse (with Tyne Daley in the pivotal role of Katherine).

Michael Learned ("The Waltons") strikes the perfect chords as the woman from Dallas who, 20 years after her son Andre's 1994 death from AIDS, visits the Manhattan pied-a-terre of Cal, her son's lover, who now lives happily with his husband, Will, and their precocious 6-year-old son, Bud.

Learned's Katherine is a maelstrom of anger borne on decades of grievances, including a loveless marriage, estrangement from Andre while he was dying and her acute loneliness in the years after the deaths of her husband and son.

But Learned's nuanced performance reveals Katherine's self-awareness, which tempers what easily could have been an annoying, one-note caricature. Hers is a bravura turn that alone is worth the trip to the Roberts.

Learned is aided by the convincing, confident work of James Lloyd Reynolds as Cal and Hugh Kennedy as his 15-years-younger spouse, Will.

For Wednesday's opening-night performance, Jacob Wilner (who shares the role with Patrick Gibbons Jr.) played Bud with remarkable naturalness. His work, in fact, drove home why actors traditionally have viewed performing with children with extreme prejudice.

If scene stealing was a crime, the tyke would have spent Wednesday night in juvie.