When one big musical event closes in Milwaukee, another one opens. At least, that’s exactly what’s going on right now. Summerfest may have closed its gates for 2015, but following closely after the Big Gig is "Motown: The Musical," a traveling Broadway production of the four-time Tony nominee jukebox musical arriving at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, July 7 and running through Sunday, July 12.

Penned by influential Motown founder Berry Gordy, "Motown" gathers together some of the biggest names in music industry history – Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye – and their iconic tunes to tell the story of the founding and flourishing of Motown. Stepping into the soulful shoes of Mr. Gaye is actor Jarran Muse, who OnMilwaukee.com got a chance to chat with about playing an icon, his favorite songs and why Motown music still sings – culturally and socially. 

OnMilwaukee.com: When was your first interaction with Motown music and Marvin Gaye?

Jarran Muse: Well, being American, Motown music is kind of in our genetic makeup. You hear it everywhere. I was raised by my grandmother while my parents were still finishing up school and what not, so I always had a connection with Motown. That was the only music I would listen to: the oldies and R&B. I didn’t really listen to a lot of the music that was playing on the radio; it was always Motown music.

I connected with Marvin Gaye at a very early age because of his voice, the way he sang. As I started singing, people would always tell me, "Wow, you kind of remind me of Marvin Gaye" or "If they ever do a Marvin Gaye movie, you should play a young Marvin." And it happened! (laughs) 

OMC: How much research did you do to get the essence of Marvin Gaye and capture that character?

JM: I did quite a bit of research. Unfortunately, Marvin’s not with us, so I was never able to see him live because he passed such a long time ago. But the biggest piece of information that I had was Mr. Gordy himself. Mr. Gordy wrote "Motown: The Musical" and of course founded Motown. He was also Marvin’s brother-in-law; Marvin Gaye married his sister. That’s how he got introduced to Motown. So Mr. Gordy and Marvin Gaye were very close. So most of the inside information I got from Mr. Gordy directly with our one-on-one conversations.

But you also have to remember that I have been a part of "Motown" since the very beginning, since the first workshop. So I got to see the other actors that played Marvin, I got to see what they did and their interpretations of the character, and then I added what was already set to my own flavor and put that into the mix.

OMC: What did you see in those earlier performances, and what did you personally want to add to those interpretations?

JM: Now, keep in mind that a lot of his earlier performances were in the ’50s and ’60s because that’s when he first arrived on the scene, so there isn’t a whole lot of video or images because they weren’t recording a whole lot back then. But one thing that stood out was Marvin Gaye, in his early years, was not the Marvin Gaye that people connect with or associate with now – the whole sexual vibe. He was actual a crooner; Marvin wanted to be more like Frank Sinatra. So I like to make sure that younger Marvin is not as into sex as the late Marvin was. But I just try to be Marvin; I don’t really try to do a certain thing. I just try to let it happen.

OMC: What for you is your favorite Marvin Gaye song to sing?

JM: My favorite Marvin Gaye song to sing actually isn’t in the show. I really like "Let’s Get It On." (laughs) Oh, I love that song. I really do. But my favorite song in the show is actually "What’s Going On?" because it really captures that emotion and asks the question that is completely relevant. I think that’s the most relevant song in our show for what’s happening in America right now.

OMC: Is that also the hardest song to sing, because of the content? Or is there a harder one because of the musicality or the notes?

JM: The most difficult song is "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" because it’s very high. The thing with Marvin’s music and "Motown: The Musical" is that they, for some reason, chose all the highest songs to sing. So all of them are hard. With "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," you have to flip into your falsetto and then come back to a belt and go down smooth. That’s a difficult one.

OMC: Why do you think Motown music still has such an impact today?

JM: I mean, Motown music really changed not only America, but the world. It was the music that brought all the races together in a time when everything was so separated and segregated. Motown music is timeless because the words, the lyrics and everything those artists felt at the time is what they put into their music. The reason why it’s so timeless is because it was just that good. A lot of the artists today still sample music from Motown. If something is really good, how can you top that? So the artists of today, they can’t really top the Motown music because it’s just great. It was real music. They had live musicians playing in the studio with them, not this electronic music. It just made you feel good, and you can’t really recreate that. So that’s why it stays as good as it was back then today.

OMC: Why is now the right time for "Motown: The Musical"?

JM: For some reason, our country’s going backward, and those same problems we faced in the ’60s have resurfaced – I don’t know if resurfaced is the right word or if those problems never really went away. But for some reason, in the last five years, things have gotten out of control, out of hand. And this music that we had back in the ’60s that brought people together, we’re telling that same message.

For the people who actually lived through that generation – the baby boomer generation – that was around when Motown was first birthed and this music was first put out there, it’s bringing them back to their childhood but we’re also asking the same questions. Marvin Gaye: "What’s Going On?"  What IS going on? Why are we still, in 2015, so separated racially? Why can’t we come together as humans and coexist?

A lot of Motown was feel good music so that everyone could get out of the craziness and come together and be happy and live as one, and I feel like now is that time. I’m really happy they decided to make the musical during this time; it’s kind of … I don’t know if ironic is the right word, but all of a sudden, we’re in St. Louis when the Ferguson trial was happening, and we brought a lot of joy to those people.

Over the last few months, we’ve had a lot of crazy different stories where people are shooting up churches and, I don’t know, crazy random things like that, and we’re just spreading love and positivity. And audiences are loving it, and they need to hear the message that we’re trying to tell them, which is stop all the violence and feel good and come together and be happy.