It is usual to have a premiere after the previews even though the show has been on since December 2021, MJ The Musical has had its premiere last night.
So all the cast and staff of the show have put their best frock on to walk the red carpet where hundreds of journalists and Broadway goers were waiting in front of the Neil Simon’s theatre on Broadway, New York – decorated head to toe with Nate Giorgio’s drawings of the King of Pop for the occasion.
This included the full cast of the show like Myles Frost who is playing Michael Jackson in the musical but also the controversial writer Lynn Nottage and Director Christopher Wheeldon.
And of course the Michael Jackson Estate was present with the presence of John Branca. He was shortly joined by all three Michael’s children, Prince, Paris and Bigi. T.J. Jackson from 3T also was in the room. Some of MJ collaborators where also there such as Tone and Rich Talauega, Kenny Ortega and Spike Lee.
The reviews are now coming in and while all of the critics are praising Myles Frost for his performance as Michael Jackson, they also all agreed that it is a crowd pleaser with a just-good-enough nostalgia. While some critics are questioning the quality of the set and also the fact that the very core of Jackson is not touch such as the allegations or his personal feelings, they agreed that it does touch on the King of Pop’s creative mind. They also criticise Nottage to not have gone deeper into the issues as the world after “Leaving Neverland” needs answers. But is it the place to do so? Nottage is not crossing that line of course as this is really the role of the Estate to answer those questions.
And as a premiere, we also got few inside-show pictures showcasing the costumes and set.
Overall, the premiere was a success and it seems that most of the Broadway Critics have enjoyed the show and most of all, the music.
You can get your tickets for MJ The Musical here.
I read some of those early reviews, and they seem to have watched a different show from a lot of the regular audiences who’ve raved about the show. What do they expect from a musical production, I wonder? And would touching on the allegations give them more weight than they deserve? They keep wanting to tackle this problem, but refuse to do so when contrary voices of fans, family and Estate reps are raised. They’ve all spoken out in interviews and statements about Michael’s innocence, but as we know all too well, that doesn’t make the headlines like the claims of lying maids and false accusers.
The media don’t like being the villain of the piece (which they also are cast as in MJ One) which indicates they’re not taking in the message of songs like Tabloid Junkie, or perhaps think they are hard done by. Hopefully the fans and theatre-goers who actually pay for their tickets and give their opinions without financial reimbursement will continue to drown out the critics.
Nice report, thank you.
I’m actually happy to see how these vultures get upset everytime Michael Jackson and reallity beat them.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE SHOW Michael the megastar was best