MJ Previews — Page 5

There comes a point where we need to learn to separate the art from the artist. I know I for one am not giving up Kevin Spacey movies just because he’s a creep. The J. Randy Taraborelli biography of Michael is the most revealing window into his life, troubles, turmoil and artistry. You can’t put a kid through what he went through and expect them to turn out normal.

That biography was excellent as is the brilliant documentary Square One. Thank you for your thoughts.

Any word on lottery/rush policy?

The creatives gave an already controversial interview -- to the NY Times, the paper of record and leading chronicler of Broadway -- outlining the show's narrow(er) ambitions with the clear intention of explaining what the musical would not cover. Before the first preview. It was announced that Jackson's post-Thriller life would remain off-stage, despite numerous subsequent reports outlining behavior during those years. This thread's discussion grew in part out of responses to that interview -- a spelled out explication of the show's aesthetic and biographic focus. Arguably, to sell tickets to those who would not attend a show depicting Jackson's more egregious behavior. I can only speak for myself, but my comments address the creatives baldly stated goals and defense of excluded material. Since the authors didn't pretend that the show's biographic content was kept under wraps, and articulated why, anyone who lived through the era depicted can weigh in. Jackson was a very public figure for his entire career, and the show chooses to cherry-pick which parts of his narrative to dramatize. It's the creatives' prerogative; it's ours to respond.

Every post on this thread relates to the existence of the show, the show itself, its context, or its creators. Never in the history of this board has a discussion been limited to the people who saw the first couple of previews. You can stick your fingers in your ears and shout "la la la" for yourself, but no need to police folks for having a mature conversation about it. Sutton Ross, you have criticized artists for alleged sexual misconduct on this board in the past; stuff that does not approach what we know about Michael. And again, it is the team's explicit choice to make it ABOUT Michael. MJ's music was once an omnipresent part of life for most of the world, and now we're in a time when we have to reckon with what that means for us. It's okay for it to be complicated. Nobody WANTS the truth to be what it is here.

Highland Guy said: "Scarywarhol said: "Nobody WANTS the truth to be what it is here."



The truth? The truth is that on June 13, 2005, Michael Jackson was acquitted ofall chargesthat he had molested a 13-year-old boy. That means he was foundNOT GUILTY. If there were other allegations against Jackson, tell us how the jury/judge ruled.

Now, back on topic. The truth is, I hope this show is a HIT !!"

If only the criminal justice system were an accurate measure of guilt or innocence. As we are very aware, it is heavily influenced by race, class, money and privilege. Someone being acquitted does not mean innocence.

Highland Guy said: "Scarywarhol said: "Nobody WANTS the truth to be what it is here."



The truth? The truth is that on June 13, 2005, Michael Jackson was acquitted ofall chargesthat he had molested a 13-year-old boy. That means he was foundNOT GUILTY. If there were other allegations against Jackson, tell us how the jury/judge ruled.

Now, back on topic. The truth is, I hope this show is a HIT !!

​​​Aquittal does not equal Innocence.

"The truth? The truth is that on June 13, 2005, Michael Jackson was acquitted of all charges that he had molested a 13-year-old boy. That means he was found NOT GUILTY. If there were other allegations against Jackson, tell us how the jury/judge ruled."

You do know OJ was found innocent of murder charges. See link below regarding Mr. Jackson settling to prevent civil trial.

CNN.com - Jackson settlement from 1993 allegations topped $20 million - Jun 16, 2004

"Now, back on topic. The truth is, I hope this show is a HIT !!""

I hope the show is an epic failure, sadly it will probably be successful. Having sleepovers with young boys is not normal, it is actually pretty disturbing and weird. Amazing that this "weirdo" is going to be glorified on a Broadway stage no matter how talented he was as a performer.

Updated On: 12/10/21 at 12:32 AM

BroadwayNYC2 said: "Jackson aside…the show is bad. I haven’t left a theatre with a sense of “what was the point of this” in years."

Care to elaborate? "What's the point of this" can be said about the majority of the shows. What did you find to be bad? It's a sincere question because I can only find pretty much a positive feedback online. Planning to see the show in January and honest feedback is what's going to influence the amount of money I'll spend. Thanks.

Carnestoltes said: "As a newbie, all the previews thing is new to me and I'm really interested in knowing to what extent this phase, prior to the official premiere, can reshape what they will present to the world.

Do critics really refrain from watching anything before Feb 1st?"

As I understand, they will sometimes watch the show, but won't release a review until opening night. Presumably, that's when all of the kinks of the show would have been ironed out.

One notable exception was Spider-Man: Turn Out the Dark, when reviews were released while the show was still in previews because the show had stayed in previews so long that critics suspected the production was doing it to try and keep reviews from being published.

I have a lot to say about this one, but the most important thing to say is that Myles Frost is incredible! The young man is Michael Jackson. I’m not typically a fan of bio musicals because I can feel the performer pretending to be the real thing, and then I just want to see the real Cher, Tina, or whoever is being portrayed. Here I didn’t feel the pretending. Every mannerism, voice inflection, and dance move was pure Michael. The show really belongs to him and his younger versions. Nobody else, except maybe Michael’s mother, makes much of an impact. Even the father doesn’t do much except for put his son down and then leave.

Someone earlier in the thread said they left the theater wondering why they would make this. What’s the point? The same could be said for any other bio musical. There isn’t always a lesson to be learned; it’s just about the journey. With this one, it’s less about the journey and more about the music. Whether you love him or hate him, the music that he created stands the test of time. The reaction from the audience said it all. People were dancing in their seats and audibly reacting to many moments. They ate it up. There was a song mashup close to the end of act one that got a standing ovation.

While this was one of the most enthusiastic audiences I have experienced in a while, they were also one of the worst in a lot of ways. There were many people recording moments of the show (you could probably watch the whole thing if you pieced together the Instagram stories of about 10 audience members) and so many people got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of scenes. I told one man in front of me to put his phone away. Another man in front of me was literally on the show’s Instagram watching videos of the show while the live thing was being performed in front of him. Then he was googling the real people and reading up on them. That couldn’t wait? No ushers did a thing. I get it; nobody wants a fight right now and people are on edge, but come on! Because of all that, it felt more like a concert than a musical.

The costumes are important here. Michael’s wardrobe is so culturally recognizable, so each time he changed jackets, the audience went crazy. People even came to the show in costume. In terms of sets, they did a lot with projections and a few moving pieces. The “Thriller” moment toward the end was probably the most elaborate with lights and a set reminiscent of the Dangerous Tour from the 90s. The writing here feels weak or nonexistent which is surprising because it’s Lynn Nottage. There were moments where the words like “fanboy” and one other that I’m forgetting were used, and it didn’t feel very 90s. There also wasn’t much exposition. Like I said before, it’s all about the music and the dancing.

I was bummed that we didn’t get “Heal the World” as I kind of feel like that’s exactly what we need right now, but we did end with a mashup that included an audience sing-along of “Black or White” which felt extra powerful. Call me a sap, but songs like those and others like “Man in the Mirror” are exactly what we need more of right now.

Updated On: 12/12/21 at 12:59 AM

Carnestoltes said: "As a newbie, all the previews thing is new to me and I'm really interested in knowing to what extent this phase, prior to the official premiere, can reshape what they will present to the world.

Do critics really refrain from watching anything before Feb 1st?"

Prior to opening night, usually about a week before, the show will be “frozen,” meaning no more changes will be made before it opens. At that point, the critics will start attending, and they’ll review during the final previews, then publish them on opening night, February 1st.

Updated On: 12/12/21 at 09:17 AM

It seems like it’s not sure what it wants to be (or the audience isn’t sure what it wants it to be). Myles does take it seriously and, like I said, is doing great work, but because it’s all about the music and not much about a story, the audience does treat it like a concert or Vegas-style show. I agree with you saying you’d hate that because that was my least favorite part about the night - the way the audience was treating it. They were enthusiastic but also rude at the same time, if that makes sense. It doesn’t help that after Covid, everyone is casual about everything and there’s no formality. Some might not care about constant bathroom exits and videotaping, but I did. It’s too bad because great work is happening on that stage and it should be respected.

DramaTeach said: "It seems like it’s not sure what it wants to be (or the audience isn’t sure what it wants it to be). Myles does take it seriously and, like I said, is doing great work, but because it’s all about the music and not much about a story, the audience does treat it like a concert or Vegas-style show. I agree with you saying you’d hate that because that was my least favorite part about the night - the way the audience was treating it. They were enthusiastic but also rude at the same time, if that makes sense. It doesn’t help that after Covid, everyone is casual about everything and there’s no formality. Some might not care about constant bathroom exits and videotaping, but I did. It’s too bad because great work is happening on that stage and it should be respected."

Im sorry you had such a crappy audience, I would be annoyed if someone was taping the show but I think most people understand it's not a concert. Bathroom breaks are just part of going to a theater, so I don't mind people doing so. Myles is MJ, I completely agree and it's very exciting to watch him. Im glad it's such a long preview period so things can tighten up a bit. Otherwise, it's in great shape. Thank you for your review and thoughts.