By Elyse Trevers
Although “MJ” opened in February, I wasn’t invited to see it at that time because the lead, a wonderful Myles Frost, got hurt.
Several weeks later, I saw the show, and Frost was worth waiting for. As soon as he appears on stage, we can’t take our eyes off him.
He speaks with the familiar whispery voice, and his movements are smooth and lithe. Jackson explains that he is constantly moving, so Frost is never still. He has even mastered the well-known hand gestures.
As the audience trickles into the Neil Simon Theatre, the cast members are warming up on stage. Their impressive physical movements foreshadow the breathtaking dancing to come.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, arguably one of the best living American playwrights working today, wrote the script. This season she had three works performed: “Intimate Apparel,” “Clyde” and “MJ.”
The timing of “MJ” enabled her to omit controversial issues. Since the show is set in 1982, a year before accusations against Jackson were made about supposed child sexual abuse which took place at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, the musical avoids dealing with the allegations. Yet many in the audience couldn’t help but wonder how the show would handle it. Short answer-the show didn’t.
Like “The Cher Show” and “Summers: the Donna Summers Musical,”
“MJ” uses different actors to portray the performer at different stages in his life. There are three Michaels in each show.
First, is Little Michael performing with his brothers in The Jackson 5, then Michael with The Jacksons and finally Frost as MJ. Often when the other two perform, Frost is on stage and joins in.
Michael Jackson fans will be delighted by the singing and dancing. Not only are the numbers superbly executed, but fans of the group will recognize the familiar clothing, (Costume Design by Paul Tazewell) songs and movements. The playbill lists 40 songs from Jackson’s playlist, so the music is constant.
Followers of Jackson know about Joseph, Jackson’s harsh, judgmental father (here played by Quentin Earl Darrington in a double role, also playing Rob who is coordinating the tour. ) Joseph is relentless, never easing up on the boys and making them rehearse constantly. Nottage’s script includes his making disparaging remarks about Micheal’s skin and his ‘big nose, casting blame on him when later MJ’s bleaches his skin and has his nose fixed. The senior Jackson is the first in a series of older Black men to warn Michael saying, “You’re a Black man and this industry isn’t going to let you in without a fight.” Later Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones repeated the message.
MJ is portrayed as a consummate artist, devoted to his music and his fans. He is pleasant, often joking around and sweet but with an undercurrent of sadness. He’s also gently unyielding, making last-minute outrageous demands from the staging of the tour. When he has a big press conference, questions are hurled at him about his pills and skin bleaching. However, Jackson wants “to keep it about the music.”
If members of the audience bought tickets to see pulsating dancing and singing (Christopher Wheeldon , director and choreographer) they weren’t disappointed. If they wanted to see some incredible performances, they weren’t disappointed. If they wanted to know the true story of Michael Jackson complete with its sordid side, they didn’t hear it here. Although MJ claims, “the songs are the stars, not the singer,” that isn’t true. Jackson, the performer, the enigma, the pathetic man-child, was himself part of the story but we only see some of it in “MJ.”
