The smash Broadway musical MJ, based on the turbulent life of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is coming to the West End next year.
The Tony Award-winning musical will begin performances at London’s Prince Edward Theatre on March 6, 2024.
The show is about the making of Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour, showcasing Jackson’s musical work, and also depicts the star talking about his life in an interview to a journalist.
Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon OBE and based on a book by Pulitzer-winning dramatist Lynn Nottage, the production bypasses any references to the sexual abuse allegations levelled against Jackson, for which it received some criticism during its New York run.
“It’s a rollicking parade of hits, vocal high points and a sanitised spin through Jackson’s life that sketches demons without filling them in,” wrote the Guardian’s Adrian Horton last year.
However, Wheeldon’s exhilarating choreography has drawn praise from critics and audiences, as has the cast. Jackson is played by Grammy-nominated Myles Frost, Quentin Earl Darrington doubles as his tour manager and father Joe Jackson, and Whitney Bashor plays the journalist interviewing Jackson.
“Wheeldon’s choreography – performed by Frost along with a superb if amazingly jacked ensemble – remains compelling longer, offering a three-dimensional version of what most of us have seen only from distant arena seats or in dark videos on depthless screens,” said the New York Times in its review.
There’s no word on UK casting yet but tickets go on sale on May 24, 2023. For more information and to sign up for presale tickets, go to mjthemusical.com.
