MARY WILSON'S SUPREME PERFORMANCE

BY BRUCE CRANE

 At Walt Whitman Theatre on February 17, Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes, along with Dennis Edwards who leads the Temptations Revue, performed for about a 1,000 over aged teenagers. Both groups had a juke box of hits.  

Wilson, 62, wore a black tunic tube top, black metallic pants and a bodice in the back. With great emotion, she sang such hits as  “My World is Empty Without You,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “We’ll Be Together,” among others.  During “Stop in the Name of Love,” six gutsy audience members took to the stage for an impromptu dance session. Thankfully, they all could dance.  One of the dancing fans was Ray Shawn, a BC alumni and past writer for the Kingsman Newspaper.

Wilson had a very personal stage presence. Several times she asked if the sound was too loud, until she finally had it adjusted perfect. She sang and spoke, making eye contact with all areas of the crowd. She talked to the audience, not at them.

“She treats all with respect, she is the Princess of Motown with elegance, sophistication and class,” said William Richards, an audience member dressed in a long raccoon coat and velvet ensemble underneath. He claimed to have met her many times.

After she spoke of children being our future, I noticed Wilson had a tattoo of her son on her shoulder.

“Dare to dream is what the original Supreme Florence Ballard did,” Wilson said.  She was glad that Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to Ms. Ballard when she won the Golden Globe award for her role in Dreamgirls.  The film, based on a stage play, is loosely based on the Supremes. It is about the jealousy and egoism that forces bands like the Supreme to dissolve. The feature-film version of Dreamgirls has film stars Hudson, along with Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy. 

Ms. Wilson graciously signed autographs for everyone waiting after the show. I asked her about the dare to dream line. She said that is her favorite line and that words have power.

The Supremes, an all-female singing group, was led by Dianna Ross. They were junior high school friends from the Brewster-Douglas public housing project in Detroit. A standout act on the trailblazing Motown Records roster, the Supremes were the most successful African American musical act of the 1960’s, recording 12 American number-one hits between 1964 and 1969.