MJ THE MUSICAL Star Tavon Olds-Sample Lands Lead Role in SHADOW DANCE Film

Tavon Olds-Sample, who is currently playing the "middle" Michael Jackson in Broadway's MJ: The Musical, is set to star as an aspiring young dancer in the new coming-of-age feature film Shadow Dance. Deadline was the first to report the news.

Olds-Sample will star alongside Tony Award winners Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) and Adrienne Warren (The Last Five Years) in the film, with a cast that also includes Omair Hardwick, Reggie Lochard, Omar Dorsey, and Broadway alum Jasmine Guy. The film is written and produced by Lochard, with Kelley Kali set as director. Filming will begin in 2026.  

According to the synopsis, the movie follows Amare Jordan (Olds-Sample), "an aspiring dancer who finds himself out on the streets after his father walks in on him in bed with another man. Now on his own, he must navigate the harsh realities of being on his own and fending for himself, all the while trying to make his dreams of becoming a professional dancer come to life. Scared and alone, he meets Dennis Knight, a seemingly kind and generous man who eventually takes him down a rabbit hole of drugs, sex and lies.” 

Olds-Sample can currently be seen in MJ: The Musical, which is running at the Neil Simon Theatre. The show marks his Broadway debut. Previous regional credits include Scottsboro Boys (Beck Center for the Arts) and I Sing the Rising Sea (Virginia Stag Company).