Diana Ross… We Love You

Last week Diana Ross performed to a sold out crowd at the Chicago Theater for her More Today Than Yesterday tour.   The iconic Miss Ross has been entertaining adoring fans since she signed with Motown Records in the early 60s and it was such a treat to get to see her perform live.  Diana’s catalog of songs is expansive and includes 18 #1 singles.  And in one night she takes us from the popular tracks of her early days with legendary girl group, The Supremes, to her current hits in this two hour show.

Diana is not only famous for her work as a singer and actress, but she is also one of the biggest fashion icons of her generation.   It was only fitting that she emerged from beneath the stage donning a silver and black Bob Mackie sequined gown with a lime green feather cape!  Spectacular!  She made her way down the winding stairs to center stage performing”The Boss” and “More Today Than Yesterday.”  Her voice was pitch perfect, her mood was jovial, and her audience was on their feet.  Well, not the entire audience. There were many pockets of overzealous fans – including my party of four – but many in the sold out crowd chose to have Miss Ross do all of the work while they simply (and perhaps more traditionally) sat there waiting to be entertained.

After performing a few of her new singles she began a sequence of hits from her days with The Supremes.  My personal favorites were “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Come See About Me” and “Love Child.” Vintage photos of Diana, The Supremes and her former Motown label mates were displayed on the jumbotron behind her as the audience sang along to her classics.   What a splendid walk down memory lane!

Next up… the 80s!  Diana made a quick outfit change (one of six that she would make throughout the night) to a splendid red sequined Mackie ensemble with matching feather stole.   She belted “I’m Coming Out” from stage left as we got to our feet once again.  ”Coming Out” was followed by “Mirror, Mirror” and she closed the 80s with “Ease on Down the Road” from the soundtrack of The Wiz.

The next set included yet another outfit change as she sang some of her popular ballads like “The Look of Love” and “Don’t Explain.” Three costumes later with the crowd still on their feet, Miss Ross closed the show with a very appropriate tribute to her friend and mentee, Michael Jackson.  She sang “Reach Out and Touch,” her first single as a solo artist after leaving The Supremes, in remembrance of MJ to close the show.

It is a rare treat to see one of the greatest performers of our time, after five decades in the spotlight, still at the top of their game.  If you can get to a city on a future date where her tour is stopping, I’d definitely recommend taking in this show.