MJ The Musical Tickets

By: Lynn Nottage
Songs by: Michael Jackson
Director: Christopher Wheeldon
Producer: Lia Vollack, John Branca and John McClain
Cast list: Elijah Rhea Johnson (as MJ), Tavon Olds-Sample (as Michael), Austin Rankin and Eric Williams (alternating as Little Michael), Jace Bently (as Little Marlon), Apollo Levine (as Joseph Jackson/Rob), Whitney Bashor (as Rachel), Gabriel Ruiz (as Alejandro), Antoine L. Smith (as Berry Gordy/Nick), Joey Sorge (as Dave), Ayana Jackson (as Katherine Jackson), Matthew Frederick Harris (as Quincy Jones/Tito Jackson), John Edwards (as Jackie Jackson), Nick T. Daly (as Jermaine Jackson), Zachary Downer (as Marlon Jackson), Lloyd L. Boyd III (as Randy Jackson)
Design: Derek McLane
Lighting: Natasha Katz
Costume: Paul Tazewell
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Sound: Gareth Owen
Other info: Music direction by Jason Michael Webb, musical supervision by David Holcenberg, orchestrations and arrangements by David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb, projection design by Peter Nigrini, hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe, movement consultation by Rich and Tone Talauega

The MJ Broadway musical is mostly set in a rehearsal studio, where Jackson is preparing for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour. An MTV reporter arrives to interview Jackson for a documentary, and he gradually opens up about his childhood and the moments that shaped his career.

The songs are Jackson’s, of course, and the book is by Lynn Nottage, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright for her plays Ruined and Sweat. She also received a Tony nomination for MJ.

MJ The Musical uses Jackson’s tunes in creative ways. For example, an adult Jackson reckons with his rocky relationship with his father through the horror-infused “Thriller”. But the choreography is also a major storytelling tool, which sets MJ The Musical apart from a Michael Jackson tribute concert. It’s fitting that the music and dance are equally key in the story of a man inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame (he’s the only music artist in the latter!).

Jackson is also in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — twice. He has 15 Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and 39 Guinness World Records including Most Successful Entertainer of All Time.

What to watch for

• When you walk into the theatre, look closely at the semi-sheer curtain hanging in front of the stage. Jackson’s handwritten rehearsal notes are projected onto it.
• Wheeldon choreographed MJ The Musical alongside Rich and Tone Talauega, two of Jackson’s former backup dancers and collaborators. They have since become renowned choreographers for two other Jackson-inspired shows in the U.S. and for pop stars including Madonna, Missy Elliott, and the Backstreet Boys.
• MJ The Musical creatives Nottage and Wheeldon describe MJ The Musical as an in-depth look at Jackson’s life and creative process, and not just a jukebox musical. “You will leave with a better understanding of who he was as a human being,” Nottage told The New York Times.
• According to set designer Derek McLane, the show frequently transports audiences “into Michael’s mind — his memories and dreams,” including a flashy streetscape design dotted with neon and fire escapes.
• Nottage is everywhere on the New York theatre scene. Her new play Clyde’s also premiered on Broadway in 2021, with performances beginning two months before the first performance of MJ The Musical. An opera adaptation of her play Intimate Apparel played at Lincoln Center in January 2022, making her the only person to have a play, musical, and opera in New York at the same time.
• Jackson was the first artist to have singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in five separate decades — he achieved early success leading the Jackson 5 with his brothers as a child before launching his solo career.