‘MJ The Musical’ is a groovy tribute to the King of Pop at the Benedum Center
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Michael Jackson was an innovator, an icon, a musical prodigy, a multitalented superstar and a controversial figure in the world of pop culture. It was only a matter of time until a Broadway musical about his life hit the stage.
After a delay due to the covid-19 pandemic, “MJ The Musical,” with a book by Lynn Nottage and boasting a barrage of bombastic pop hits, opened on Broadway in early 2022. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and netted four, mostly in various technical categories — and for good reason. Its first national tour started in mid-2023 and opened its Pittsburgh run at the Benedum Center on Tuesday night.
Cataloging the tumultuous times of the King of Pop, the musical’s main action takes place in 1992 in the days leading up to Jackson’s legendary “Dangerous World Tour.” In the midst of rehearsals, an MTV film crew appears to shoot a piece on the tour, and journalist Rachel interviews Jackson, trying to dig deep into some of his famous controversies. Over the course of the show, Jackson recounts the events of his life, from his childhood in the Jackson 5 to his father’s abuse to his breakout on his own and collaboration with producer Quincy Jones (RIP).
All the while, Jackson is navigating an ever-growing creative vision for the world tour — which is rapidly running out of money — along with his always-challenging relationship with the press.
Three separate actors play Jackson throughout different stages of his life. Josiah Benson Bane Griffith portrays “Little Michael” in his childhood, with a sensational voice that matches Jackson’s own precocious vocals on songs such as “ABC” and “I Want You Back.”
Erik Hamilton gives the strongest performance of all as Michael in his teenage and young adult years, during the transition from family band to solo artist, all the way up through his “Thriller” heyday. He oozes Jackson’s seemingly effortless smoothness and talent in dance and sounds closest to Jackson vocally.
Of the three, fortunately, the strongest acting come from Jamaal Fields-Green, playing “Dangerous”-era Michael Jackson. The book of the musical can devolve into platitudes at times, but Fields-Green pulls off giving depth to an enigmatic character — and gives a pretty good moonwalk, too.
Other standouts of the cast include Devin Bowles, who plays the dual roles of Rob, Jackson’s manager, and Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the Jackson family. He gives the most compelling acting performances of the whole show. Then there is the musical’s Rachel, Cecilia Petrush, who works as a perfect counterweight to Fields-Green with an earnestness and determination that drives the plot. She also has a lovely singing voice that we don’t get to hear enough; she and Fields-Green’s duet of “Human Nature” is one of the best numbers in the show.
It’s hard not to address Jackson’s most severe scandals here, a conundrum that Nottage may also have faced, seeing as the topic is entirely ignored outside of one line of dialogue about “the allegations” toward the end of Act 1. Though the investigation into Jackson for child molestation and other charges did not officially begin until a year after the show’s setting — and he was acquitted of those charges in 2005 — it’s hard to ignore that major part of the star’s life, especially since the book does a good job of humanizing such a larger-than-life figure in other areas.
All else aside, “MJ The Musical” is truly a technical marvel. It’s hard to see how such an enormous undertaking has made it through a tour, with so many numbers that feel like their own music videos. The make-it-bigger staging almost mirrors the musical’s lead and his determination to make the “Dangerous World Tour” more massive and cutting-edge than anything audiences have seen before.
Scenic designer Derek McLane, lighting designer Natasha Katz and costume designer Paul Tazewell pulls out all the stops with neon lights, screens, pitch-perfect reflections of iconic costumes and period dress (the ’70s outfits in particular are amazing) and props to make each scene feel like its own.
That’s also thanks in large part to director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, who took the immortal dance moves of Michael Jackson and made them fresh while maintaining their “wow” factor.
Toward the end of the show’s second act, Michael Jackson compares his tour to a circus. In many ways, “MJ The Musical” feels that way, too — while it’s a story about a complicated musician who changed the landscape of pop and celebrity culture, anyone who’s a fan of even a few of his songs will appreciate the showmanship and production value put into this musical.
“MJ The Musical” will run through Dec. 1 at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. To get tickets, visit trustarts.org.