Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MJ is an ideally constructed jukebox bio-musical that shies away from the Shakespearean tragedy of its subject

• By drediman
• March 30, 2022
• No Comments

Over the years, the jukebox bio-musical (Jersey Boys, Summer, Ain’t Too Proud, Beautiful, Motown, The Cher Show) has been taking an increasing amount of real estate on the Great White Way. This season, enter MJ, which I attended last night at the Neil Simon Theatre. If you haven’t already gathered, the new musical is an ode to the singular pop music artist Michael Jackson – particularly his iconic songbook and legendary career. Although many may object to this kind of celebration of the troubled singer, it’s hard to deny the effectiveness of the production (in my mind an ideal culmination of this type of musical thus far), thanks largely to the notable contributions of a trio of theater artists – playwright Lynn Nottage, director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, and actor Myles Frost.

Nottage’s book is constructed thoughtfully and is structured around rehearsals for the 1992 Dangerous tour. Throughout the evening, Jackson is triggered to recount pivotal, sometimes painful moments earlier in his life and career. Although the playwright hints at his inner demons, it mostly ignores the obvious elephant in the room, thereby shying away from the Shakespearean tragedy of the later portion of Jackson’s career. Nevertheless, her song placements are consistently inspired and seamlessly incorporated throughout. Director/choreographer Wheeldon (who also helmed the fantastic stage version of An American in Paris and originally hails from the world of dance) pulls it all together with a staging that seamlessly weaves between heightened flashbacks and gritty reality. It’s an impressive piece of stagecraft that thankfully only relies on spectacle when it’s absolutely needed.

Myles Frost – in a breakout, star-making performance that’s also serving as his Broadway debut – gives a spectacular and uncanny performance as Jackson. Although no one can completely emulate the vocal and choreographic stylings of the King of Pop, Mr. Frost comes as close as I think anyone can (at the performance I attended, Walter Russell III and Tavon Olds-Sample wonderfully played younger versions of Jackson). It’s also a pained, seductively enigmatic performance that gives us subtle glimpses of the singer’s turbulent inner life. The evening’s other notable performance comes from the commanding Quentin Earl Darrington, who effectively doubles as the director of the Dangerous tour and Jackson’s tyrannical, difficult father. As the latter, Darrington eventually becomes a stand-in for all of Jackson’s demons (especially manifested in the potently conceived and staged “Thriller” number late in the second act).

RECOMMENDED

MJ
Broadway, Musical
Neil Simon Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run