MJ Previews- Page 3

[BritCrit]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 10:21am

bearhorn said: "It’s impossible to include all the hits from an artist like MJ, but here’s some notable (Top 10) omissions:



Got To Be There

Ben

Never Can Say Goodbye

Enjoy Yourself

Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

Off The Wall

PYT (Pretty Young Thing)

Say, Say, Say

I Just Can’t Stop Loving You

The Way You Make Me Feel

Dirty Diana

Remember The Time"

 

"Working Day and Night" was listed on the posters but seems to have been cut...

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 11:57am

thats an incredible song list though i am surprised not to see Remember the Time on there, as it seems tailor made for a biopic musical, no? 

are the songs performed as rehearsals/performances, or do they move the plot--whatever they have come up with here-- along? does the show touch/address his love life or the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father?

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 12:06pm

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 12:06 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:10pm

How's the physical production? Any big set pieces? Is it all projections? 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:24pm

How utterly bizarre to not only choose to do an MJ musical, and not only make it a bio musical rather than a revue or a story show using the catalog, but to highlight plenty of unpleasant things about his personal life. The elephant in the room keeps inflating. I'm curious, but certainly not giving them my money. Always admired Lynn Nottage, I hope whatever she got paid was worth it. 

[rpvee2]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:26pm

JDonaghy4 said: "are the songs performed as rehearsals/performances, or do they move the plot--whatever they have come up with here-- along? does the show touch/address his love life or the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father?"

My two-post-long review on the previous page answers these questions. :)

 

uncageg said: "rpvee2, what was the running time last night?"

Started around 8:06, ended around 10:50. So right around the two hour forty-five minute time listed online.

 

RippedMan said: "How's the physical production? Any big set pieces? Is it all projections?"

Solid mix of projections and set pieces. Some songs used one more than the other. “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller” are undoubtedly the big set piece numbers, though the Thriller album medley had some neat set designs too.

 

Updated On: 12/7/21 at 01:26 PM

[TomDaBombMLP]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:32pm

The musical is not just about his brilliance as an artist but humanity which the mass media so effectively erased in a decades long campaign filled with lies and innuendo. When you dig deeper, you find he is absolutely worthy of praise, not just for his music but what he did for others too. The musical touches that subject too. Nice to see that he gets a voice amid the insane noise the media created around and against him.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:42pm

TomDaBombMLP said: "The musical is not just about his brilliance as an artist but humanity which the mass media so effectively erased in a decades long campaign filled with lies and innuendo. When you dig deeper, you find he is absolutely worthy of praise, not just for his music but what he did for others too. The musical touches that subject too. Nice to see that he gets a voice amid the insane noise the media created around and against him."

What’s your role with the production? 

[rpvee2]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 1:47pm

I find it pretty amusing that now there are two musicals on Broadway about a character named MJ who’s addicted to prescribed painkillers (and both shows also feature an on-stage band that rolls out on a platform). xD

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 2:37pm

 

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 02:37 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 2:42pm

Maybe it's just an ART thing? Same with Waitress. I think it's kind of stupid. But the whole JLP set design is trash. 

[Ke3]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 4:25pm

Kad said: "TomDaBombMLP said: "The musical is not just about his brilliance as an artist but humanity which the mass media so effectively erased in a decades long campaign filled with lies and innuendo. When you dig deeper, you find he is absolutely worthy of praise, not just for his music but what he did for others too. The musical touches that subject too. Nice to see that he gets a voice amid the insane noise the media created around and against him."

What’s your role with the production?"

I doubt they have one. Despite the perception by many people that the allegations have ruined his legacy the man has tons of fans, many of whom are ummmm...intense is the nicest way I can put it. If more of them knew this website existed they'd likely already be here. They worship the man.

Anyway, somebody call me when Janet the Musical is on Broadway. Now there's a show I'd see.

[rpvee2]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 5:25pm

uncageg said: "Had to ask again but what was the running time of the show last night? Trying to figure out timing for returning home."

I answered that a few posts above. :) Started around 8:06, ended around 10:50. So right around the two hour forty-five minute time listed online.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 5:36pm

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 5:45pm

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 05:45 PM

[honeybun110]

Posted: 12/7/21 at 6:19pm

Scarywarhol said: "How utterly bizarre to not only choose to do an MJ musical, and not only make it a bio musical rather than a revue or a story show using the catalog, but to highlight plenty of unpleasant things about his personal life. The elephant in the room keeps inflating. I'm curious, but certainly not giving them my money. Always admired Lynn Nottage, I hope whatever she got paid was worth it."

Agreed, especially in 2021. I don’t want to give them my money, but I’m curious if it’s obvious why they chose to do this show now. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 2:30am

Just got in from the show.

I am just amused at the questions as to "why they are doing the show now" and the "Estate money grab" comments. It's Michael Jackson. Why did they do the Donna Summer, Motown and Tina Turner shows when they did? And the MJ Estate really doesn't need the money. It is worth over 100M.

So, the show.... For the most part I really enjoyed it. Yes, they focus on the "Dangerous" tour. It takes place during rehearsals for the tour just before the tour is to begin. It also focuses on the start of his pill dependency. It is a mentioned several times and addressed. I think they were also using it as a foreshadowing. When it first came up, you could hear a few gasps in the audience. It was an immediate reminder that it led to his death. 

The story is all about his mental state at the time and how his past has affected his "current" state of mind and the choices he was making for the tour. A few things came up that I had forgotten. I figure the creatives did their research and found out the reasons he wanted to do one specific thing on the tour. It tells the story I was hoping it would tell and seems to be trying to balance between hardcore fans from way back who know all of, or most, of this stuff and pleasing younger fans. The crowd tonight ate it up.

The show definitely needs some trimming. A few songs are repeated and don't need to be. Most notably "Thriller". It is used in a very good medley production number and then pretty much the entire song is done again near the end of the show. The odd thing is that it is done as the entire stage turns into the cover of the "Dangerous" album. The only thing I can think of is that Nottage did this to show how the massive success of Thriller loomed over the "Dangerous" album. But it was weird how they went into the number. The songs that were not his and the songs he recorded after Dangerous were pretty much used to "move the story along". There was one song "Price of Fame" that I didn't recognize. But it is one of his songs. Also, I do not remember hearing "Climb Every Mountain", "Oh Happy Day"  or "Ease on Down the Road"  "Love Train",La La Means I love You"at this performance. And unless it was in a medley, I don't remember hearing "Workin' Day and Night". All are listed in the song credits but not all are listed in the musical numbers.

I mentioned above that I was scratching my head over Wheeldon directing the show. I didn't find it totally solid directing but not bad. At times though, I wish they had cast two more actors to play his parents. Their transitions from being part of the Dangerous tour to the parents was mostly seamless but, for me, separate actors would have worked better. And they can cut out the thing about the babysitter thing and just leave the kids out of the opening scene. It really serves no purpose. God knows they have enough to do throughout the show. They are also cramming in a lot of things about MJ's personality that we saw or read about. It was like they were checking off boxes. That needs to be smoothed out a bit.

The performances.... Myles Frost is simply incredible. I was sitting in the rear mezz so I could not see facial detail. From up there it was like Michael Jackson had come back to life. From MJ's moves to right down to the speaking and singing voice this young man had it down pat. It was uncanny. Also, the two other young men who played him as the younger MJ's were incredible. I really wish they had let Ayana George sing the last half of "I'll Be There" on her own. Really thought that was what they were going to do. Her voice is incredible and she would have brought the house down. I think that may also be a problem. No other characters really have a moment outside of MJ. They mostly do duets of group numbers.

The sound design was really nice. Yes, the show is loud but not ear splitting. I actually walked downstairs and found the sound designer and talked to him at intermission. The only thing that was off was that there seemed to be some sort of delay between the vocals and the band on two numbers. It led me to think that there might be recorded tracks involved.

The set was pretty cool and the band was top notch. No, they didn't "slide in and out" a lot. When they were onstage it was because they were part of the scene in the rehearsal room. Otherwise, they were offstage. The arrangements of the songs stayed pretty true to the originals, which was really nice. The choreography was totally on point. There is a segment where MJ talks about the dancers that inspired him and it includes a fabulous Fosse type number.

The show ended at 10:40 and curtain calls ended at 10:45. There were 3 merch stands and lots of merch. I think 2 or 3 tee shirts, a hoodie, pins, a magnets, mug, water bottle, 2 ball caps, mask and a hoodie. No window cards yet.

Of course, people were taking pictures and filming. Not a whole lot but some. Kudos to the staff at the theater. They were totally on the pictures and masks. They were NOT having it. They were up and down the stairs and shining flashlights a lot during big numbers but it didn't bother me as they were doing their jobs. I am suspecting they asked the couple in the row ahead of me to leave at intermission. She had to have had the whole first act recorded on her phone. A guy behind me 4 seats in behind them finally got up in the middle of the first act and got an usher who came up and told her to stop. Their seats were empty after intermission.

All in all a nice night at the theatre. I am really thinking of seeing it again after the holidays to see what changes are made. Although this doesn't really have that Lynn Nottage "stamp" on the book, I think it is good that she is the one who wrote it. Or at least someone of her caliber.

Just my thoughts.

 

[BJR]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 7:38am

Yes, this is a cash grab. (And an image rehab.) It's a new IP, which is is the goal of nearly every estate. Yes, other estates do it; that doesn't undercut the argument, but reinforces it. And yes, some bio pics or musicals suffer from the involvement of the estate. (I won't name names but some shows on Bway got seriously watered down by estates to the point of rendering them simple revues.)

And when discussing such serious allegations, especially when the creative team said they weren't trying to hide them, but then the estate is producing it, money being a motive is relevant.

What do we think of this? The NYTimes previewing the show's treatment of the allegations at the first preview.

Also, check out these replies on Twitter. If we think this board has some blind defenders, woo boy. But then, to be a fan at the point would require such a fervent stance.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 07:38 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 9:31am

Predictably, loyalists believe that any reference to the cascade of allegations that defined his adult life is an attempt to negate his genius. As if Jackson's gifts can be carefully boxed and compartmentalized. As if we live in a world in which art and artists are not parsed and analyzed in tandem. Whole works are removed from art galleries (and, not unrelated: offending statuary moved). This is not the 70s or 80s, and artists known behavior informs our perception of their art. 

I'm less interested in re-litigating the abuse allegations and more concerned about honesty in handling Jackson's adult MO. Ignoring his fetishized attention on male children is dramaturgical negligence. Adults don’t have years of “sleepovers” with unrelated young boys. Ask any responsible therapist if his ritualized obsession with children is some rarified small piece of his story. It’s the man he became. It’s sad and disturbing but any serious theater piece aiming to dramatize the Jackson demons can’t sidestep his perverse focus on wooing underage children and "taking them into his bed" as a "the most loving thing you can do." The twee Peter Pan narrative that Jackson perpetuated only made the pathological behavior more disturbing. Airbrushing these defining aspects of his private life is designed to further the mythology. And sell tickets 

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 09:31 AM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 9:35am

BJR said: "Also, check out these replies on Twitter. If we think this board has some blind defenders, woo boy. But then, to be a fan at the point would require such a fervent stance."

Wow, those replies border on disgusting. Well if there's any justice in the world, journalists will avoid covering the show to avoid the Twitter stans and the show will not get any additional publicity.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 11:25am

Estate grab or not, none of you have any stake in it so why should you even care? It doesn't affect your life in any way. This thread is to discuss a show. And let's get off the allegation train. That got out of hand in the other thread. Don't start it back up here. Go jump on twitter and complain with the others that are not mature enough to understand there are many facets to all of our lives and this show has chosen to focus on  a certain part of his life and the one you want them to. Get over it.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 11:40am

So when you say "this thread is to discuss a show," what you really mean is, "this thread is to discuss a show in a way I find appropriate." Speculation, discussion, and criticism about the intent behind the creation of this show is fair game.

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 11:40 AM

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 11:44am

No. To discuss the show that people have seen and reporting back on. Not to rant about something that the show is not about by people who have not seen it.

[Tag]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 11:49am

I predict Wheeldon doing an interview within the next 5 years apologizing for his involvement.  I hope he and Nottage (and Rick Miramontez) take a good look at themselves in the mirror after reading yesterdays NYT article.

If they are looking for new show ideas, may I suggest something about OJ's life?  Might be up their alley.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 12:29pm

rpvee2 said: "JDonaghy4 said: "are the songs performed as rehearsals/performances, or do they move the plot--whatever they have come up with here-- along? does the show touch/address his love life or the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father?"

My two-post-long review on the previous page answers these questions. :)



uncageg said: "rpvee2, what was the running time last night?"

Started around 8:06, ended around 10:50. So right around the two hour forty-five minute time listed online.



RippedMan said: "How's the physical production? Any big set pieces? Is it all projections?"

Solid mix of projections and set pieces. Some songs used one more than the other. “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller” are undoubtedly the big set piece numbers, though the Thriller album medley had some neat set designs too."

That set piece of the "Dangerous" album cover for the second time he did "Thriller" was gorgeous. As was the lighting for the "Fosse" segment.