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The Michael Jackson Musical: 'MJ'

Charlize Theron with the cast of MJ the Musical (via Instagram).
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MJ The Musical on Broadway extended and in numbers - MJVibe

It is said that MJ The Musical will be extended to January 2029 on Broadway. However, no official statement from the Musical or Estate has landed. You can buy tickets until January 2025 on the official website. It is a good point to recap some numbers. As to date the show on Broadway had 39 […]
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It is said that MJ The Musical will be extended to January 2029 on Broadway. However, no official statement from the Musical or Estate has landed. You can buy tickets until January 2025 on the official website.

It is a good point to recap some numbers. As to date the show on Broadway had 39 preview shows, 933 performances with a total of tickets sold of 1,288,478 and a gross revenue as to date of $189,980,073 since it opened its doors in 2021.

The London West End show which started last March has already been extended to December 2024.

This is just part of the big picture as the North American Tour started in August 2023 and due to end in September this year. Once ended, we should be able to have the numbers of attendees and revenue.

And with the German version of the show in Hamburg starting this December and the Australian version in Sydney starting in February 2025, MJ The Musical will bring a consequent amount of revenue to the Estate. In May 2023, the musical already recouped its investment of $22.5 million.

There is also a rumour that the show will land in Paris, France but nothing has been confirmed yet.
 
Annita said:
It is said that MJ The Musical will be extended to January 2029 on Broadway. However, no official statement from the Musical or Estate has landed.
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That's absolutely absurd. It is definitely not true. They never book a venue that far in advance. Things get cancelled as soon as they don't make enough profit.

Nobody knows how long it will run. Not even the production company. It will only survive into 2029 if it's successful in 2028. It will only survive into 2028 if it's successful in 2027. It will only survive into 2027 if it's successful in 2026, etc.
 
Saw an LED billboard for the show and even heard some buzz about it on the radio today. Can't wait to see it next week!

To those who've seen it: was there a dress code when you went or did people just kinda wear whatever? I'm torn between my usual Michael-related show attire of jeans and MJ shirt or something dressier.
 
R1chard said:
Wear a Thriller jacket.
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LOL I wish. Unfortunately, I don't own one.

But I *do* own a CTE shirt! Granted, it's probably gonna be too hot for it, but it could get cold in the theater... I should probably wash it lol.
 
Just got back. Show was great. I'm fucking tired and have a headache so I'll write more tomorrow.

But I do have enough energy to say for the love of Christ if you're going to a theater learn to turn off your phone or at least turn the fucking volume down goddamn.
 
R1chard said:
Wear a Thriller jacket.
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Amaya said:
LOL I wish. Unfortunately, I don't own one.

But I *do* own a CTE shirt! Granted, it's probably gonna be too hot for it, but it could get cold in the theater... I should probably wash it lol.
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I had one! mum threw it out cuz looked bad cuz it was kinda ripped but i was like mum thats how it looks in the video!
 
8701girl said:
I had one! mum threw it out cuz looked bad cuz it was kinda ripped but i was like mum thats how it looks in the video!
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Ooof, that sucks. Hope you can get another sometime.

After sleeping on it, I typed up my thoughts. This is more of a stream of consciousness list, but it's the best way I could put it down. Spoilers will be marked with the spoiler tags where needed.
  • The performances were all great. Roman Banks played Michael here and I thought he did a good job. Hard to say how his performance is compared to Myles Frost, but his movements looked fine to me. Roman's speaking voice as Michael was perfect, though.
  • During one of the Jackson 5/Jacksons flashbacks, the actors playing the brothers were pretty out of sync with their dancing. Not sure if that was by design or if the actors just fucked up.
  • It was a little hard to tell what some of the actors were saying but I attribute that to my hearing going bad lol.
  • Speaking of which, I probably should have worn earplugs throughout the show. I brought some but didn’t feel like putting them in because it didn’t sound that loud (until the finale).
  • I was confused by the fact that some of the actors were playing dual roles but I caught on quickly. It seems that was by design as the tour manager characters also played Joseph and Berry Gordy, and it seemed like the musical was trying to parallel those two (will go into that a bit more further down).
  • The songs themselves are fine, although I admit I was disappointed that they sang the O’Jays song “Money” and not the song “Money” that Michael did. They did blend lyrics from the two together though. Having some of the songs be shortened a bit was disappointing, though I already knew that would be the case since I listened to the Broadway cast album a while ago.
  • The lighting and effects they used throughout were really cool. There were moments where I had to close my eyes though because the lights flashed REALLY bright and I thought I would be blinded. The way they transitioned between scenes was cool too.
  • I think the weakest part of the musical is the plot. It starts off fine but fizzles out by the second act. The bit with
    the MTV producer finding out about the painkillers is just dropped and never brought up again. Either that was an oversight or it was deliberately done as a way of saying “Who cares? Remember the music!”. If it’s the latter, I can’t help but feel that it was done in a passive-aggressive way, especially since this show got re-written after LN came out
    . There’s also this running theme of Michael coming to terms with how Joseph treated him growing up and never really having a normal life.
    You see his one manager (Rob) talking to him about something (mostly financial stuff; the cost of the Dangerous Tour and how expensive it’s getting is a recurring point throughout the show) and then it transitions to Joseph (played by the same actor) saying something similar
    . So there’s a lot of symbolic/inner conflict stuff going on that’s being portrayed on stage.
  • That said, there were some funny bits of dialogue that got plenty of laughs (Michael saying Prince will steal his stage toaster idea, saying Nirvana can’t sing or dance but they sell records like candy). I do recall some people chuckling at “not meant to be funny” moments like the news reporter talking about Michael’s hair catching fire while filming the Pepsi commercial (though that’s probably because it is such a bizarre thing to have happen) and Joseph asking “how soon can he go back to work?” after the burn happened. It wasn’t a LOT of people, but still.
  • The audience overall was pretty great. Applauding where appropriate, whooping whenever he took stuff out of the suitcase for the Billie Jean segment, singing along during the finale bit. There’s a scene where
    Joseph smacks little kid Michael that made everyone uncomfortably silent/tense
    . There was an “oooo” when
    a doctor told Joseph he can prescribe Demerol to Michael after the Pepsi commercial incident happens
    . Like I said before there was some phone shenanigans; heard maybe two cell phone jingles but no full-blown ringing or talking on phones so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Saw at least two people doing other stuff on their phones though so it’s like… is common courtesy really that dead?
  • I also don’t know how to feel about the ending. It’s just… kinda sudden. It’s overall a positive one, but there’s a twinge of sadness/uncertainty to it. Then again, given how Michael’s life turned out after 1992… the sadness bit makes sense. The uncertainty aspect comes from the fact that you don’t know if he ever fully forgives Joseph or not. I guess that’s up to the audience to decide.
  • It does end with him
    popping out of the toaster to start the Dangerous Tour which made the audience in my theater go nuts, but then there’s like this fizzle/fade out transition to close the musical that almost looks like an old-school TV turning off, so I’m not sure if that was done to look cool or to imply something. Or maybe I’m looking too deep into it, I dunno
    .
  • After the Dangerous Tour toaster scene the show ended with the whole cast singing a medley of Jam, Black or White and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ that everyone got on their feet for, so that was at least there to send everyone home happy.
Overall, I liked it, but not enough to go see it again unless there’s significant enough changes to warrant doing so. I also will always wonder what the pre-LN version of this show could have been, but I doubt we’ll ever know, so I’ll have to work on not dwelling on that.

There were plenty of Michael fans in the audience, so that was nice to see. I even talked to someone who saw the show in New York and said they loved it out there and that the actor there was a total dead-ringer for Michael (I’m assuming she was referring to Myles Frost. For some reason I didn’t think to ask for the name). At one point I even saw a kid dressed in a full Smooth Criminal outfit (though that was quite a while before the show so maybe they were from the matinee performance earlier that day?). So despite how some feel about the show, myself included, it was very reassuring to see people talking about and enjoying Michael in a positive light. Gave me hope that things will be fine for his legacy.
 
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Anyone know how well the West End show is doing really?

There has been a hell of a lot of cancellations since it opened and seems to be a large number of tickets available for performances each time.

It doesn't seem the same big hit as it was on Broadway? Not sure it will have a big run in London sadly.

Of course after the release of the movie it should make it more popular again but I'm a little worried.
 

MJ - Das Michael Jackson Musical | Die Besetzung

Erfahren Sie mehr über die Besetzung des Musicals MJ - Das Michael Jackson Musical in Hamburg. Lernen Sie die talentierten Darsteller und ihre Rollen kennen. Jetzt informieren!
www.stage-entertainment.de www.stage-entertainment.de

MJ–Das Michael Jackson Musical will begin performances in December at Stage Theater an der Elbe Hamburg and Brazilian performer Benét Monteiro, whose theatrical credits include Hairspray, Into the Woods, The Lion King, Sister Act, Bat Out of Hell, Hamilton, Hercules, and more, will play the title role in the German premiere of MJ the Musical.

“This is the role I’ve been waiting for all my life,” said Monteiro in a statement. “Michael Jackson is a genius and the greatest entertainer of all time. To have the opportunity to immerse myself in his world with the title role is the best thing that could have happened to me. It is a great honor, and I will give my best to live up to his legacy and, most importantly, to celebrate his music with our audiences in Hamburg every night starting in December.”

Casting Director Ralf Schaedler added, “We were not only looking for an actor who could echo Michael Jackson’s singing and dancing performance, but also someone who could create Michael Jackson’s unique artistic vibe on the stage. The auditions for this title role were therefore a completely new challenge for us. When I saw Benét Monteiro perform as Michael Jackson for the first time, I knew immediately that he was made for this role. With his charisma, he gives the audience the feeling that they are experiencing a real superstar on stage.”

MJ director and choreographer Christopher Weeldon stated, “Benét auditioned for us in London at the very beginning of our process before we had even created the show, and even at that time we were startled and excited by his incredible charisma, star power, and understanding of Michael’s language. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with this incredibly talented young man on MJ in Hamburg.”

(Source/MJVIBE)

 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Anyone know how well the West End show is doing really?

There has been a hell of a lot of cancellations since it opened and seems to be a large number of tickets available for performances each time.

It doesn't seem the same big hit as it was on Broadway? Not sure it will have a big run in London sadly.

Of course after the release of the movie it should make it more popular again but I'm a little worried.
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Yeah, it's a big flop like you said. Lots of tickets available, so they extended it twice, now to a full year's run.

LOL
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Did I say it was a big flop?
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Well not directly but what are you moaning about? It's been extended, twice.

Did they do that as a favor to the Estate or something? Surely that's all you need to know for how well it's doing?
 
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