Michael Jackson moonwalks across North America in a new musical inspired by his life

The Rundown

Michael Jackson was the unequivocal King of Pop, but as the cliché goes, heavy is the head that wears the crown. As musicals inspired by legends go, MJ had a choice: sugar-coated jukebox confection or brutally honest portrayal. With two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage penning the script, MJ takes the latter route, diving headfirst into the darkness that perpetually followed Michael Jackson — as far as a musical meant to appeal to the masses can, anyway.

Thanks to Nottage’s thoughtful book, Christopher Wheeldon’s direction and electric choreography, and a rundown of greatest hits, the first national tour of the multiple Tony Award-winning MJ the Musical is at once a joyous and heartbreaking tribute to one of the industry’s most gifted and complex artists.

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No Tea, No Shade

MJ opens in 1992 Los Angeles when the already-crowned King of Pop (Roman Banks) is rehearsing for the “Dangerous” world tour — his most elaborate, creative, and expensive yet. Two days until opening, Michael’s sure he can take it even further with a fantastic idea for a jaw-dropping entrance, but his tour manager (Devin Bowles) and others are concerned about his safety.

Though he’s planning to donate all tour profits to charity, Michael’s already in serious financial trouble, on the verge of losing his beloved Neverland ranch, and has become mired in never-quite-named controversy. Hoping to get an in-depth interview with the exceedingly private artist who’s been in the public eye since childhood thanks to his ruthlessly ambitious father (also played by Bowles), an MTV reporter (Mary Kate Moore) and cameraman (Da’Von Moody) enter the rehearsal space. And the story of MJ begins.

Banks skillfully carries the show with vocals made of steel, balletic grace (including a killer moonwalk), and a soft-spoken cadence that’s a dead ringer for the late Jackson. The triple-threat actor is beautifully supported by Josiah Benson (alternating with Ethan Joseph) as the young Michael with a range beyond his years and a James Brown-esque soul. Brandon Lee Harris, as Michael of the Off the Wall and Thriller eras, is eager to collaborate with Quincy Jones and break into the white-dominated world of music videos and Grammy Awards.

MJ’s title character is a savvy visionary one moment and a blinking child in a grown man’s body the next. Jackson found inspiration in talents ranging from Bob Fosse and Fred Astaire to the Nicholas Brothers, which informed the iconic “Smooth Criminal” choreography. Simultaneously, other baffling behaviors emerged, including acquiring a pet chimp named Bubbles and shooting a water gun during a financial meeting.

Jackson passed in 2009, and much of his motivations remain a mystery. To her credit, Nottage offers no easy answers or hot takes but an empathetic gaze at a groundbreaking talent who never quite found his footing in the real world.

Let’s Have a Moment

Though “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” the first track of 1982’s Thriller, serves as the show’s highly danceable Act I finale, the true stunner is “They Don’t Care About Us.” Written by Jackson and released in 1995 as part of the HIStory album, the song is a cry against prejudice and police brutality (with sadly still-relevant lyrics) as well as the many allegations against Jackson himself.

In MJ, the artist stands alone on a podium at a press conference, surrounded by menacing reporters clad in trench coats who eventually control him like a marionette. Wheeldon’s moves are militaristic, the lighting cues dark, and Banks’s voice equal parts angry and pleading, begging for mercy while powerless to the forces now intent on exploiting the worst in him.

The Last Word

As a child of the 80s and 90s, I grew up dancing to the “Thriller” and “Bad” videos, watched Michael Jackson fall from sequined hero to a punchline, and mourned his death while deeply aware of the many demons he faced. I found MJ the Musical a thoroughly satisfying experience and left the theater deep in thought while cueing up “Black or White” on my phone and dancing along. The King of Pop, in his complicated glory, still reigns.

MJ the Musical runs in Chicago through September 2 and will tour North America through 2024.