Los Angeles Michael Jackson Musical To Blame Sex Abuse Allegations On Glove; Johnny Depp Will Not Produce

Another new musical about Michael Jackson is currently in the works - told from the point of view of his glove.

A new report from The Hollywood Reporter has revealed details of the show's plot which blames Jackson's sexual abuse allegations on glove-shaped aliens that force Jackson to lure boys to his home to feed the creatures.

The musical, titled For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove, is written by Julien Nitzberg and will premiere in Los Angeles in January.

Nitzberg tells THR, "It turns out, [the glove] can give people magical musical talent if it drinks their blood and has part of their body inside of it. But it can only feed on virgin boy blood."

He continues, "I think there's a collective trauma of everyone who grew up as a Jackson 5 fan and a Michael fan. This is a way to process that in a fun way while helping people understand all of the really f***** up stuff that affected Michael's life."

Previous reports had identified actor, Johnny Depp, as a producer on the project. Depp's representatives have since debunked the rumor, confirming that Depp and his production company are in no way involved in the production.

According to a description of the show FOR THE LOVE OF A GLOVE "takes an off-kilter approach to the life story of Michael Jackson. Using Michael's glove as the play's narrator, the show is a fresh, revisionist look at the strange forces that shaped Jackson and the scandals that bedeviled him. By re-telling true life events through the perspective of a glove which is also a musically talented alien trying to take over humanity, the show is comical and unflinching, its music infused with the spirit of Motown.

It puts at its center the relationship between Michael and Donny Osmond, suggesting it is the key to understanding Michael's future fixations both professional and personal. Before cultural appropriation became a contemporary buzzword, the Osmonds appropriated the Jackson 5's look and sound in a way that caused controversy in the black community but was largely ignored in the white world. FOR THE LOVE OF A GLOVE delves into this strange history while also surveying the damage that the Jehovah's Witnesses (Michael's own religion) may have inflicted on Michael, and also how its particular rules might have shaped his art."

The show is not a jukebox musical and will feature numerous musical influences from Japan, Motown, Hollywood and multiple outer space signifiers in 20 original songs.

The show will star Jerry Minor in the title role THRHIL-LHA (aka The Glove) and Eric B. Anthony as Michael Jackson.

The actors in FOR THE LOVE OF A GLOVE perform their 20 roles while visible to the audience using specially designed Japanese Bunraku-style puppets. Realistic and close to life size, the puppets will portray all members of the Jackson 5, Donny Osmond, Emmanuel Lewis, Corey Feldman and Bubbles the Chimp. An announcement of the supporting cast will come soon.

The musical will begin performances January 25, 2020, at the Carl Sagan-Ann Druyan Theater inside the Center for Inquiry.

The musical is directed by Nitzberg who also wrote the book and lyrics. Composers are Drew Erickson, Nicole Morier and Max Townsley. Production designer is Andrea Keller; costumes by Ann Closs-Farley. Robin Walsh is lead puppet designer and puppet director. Ron Binion is puppet designer and build coordinator; Dale Van Slyke serves as puppet build assistant and assistant stage manager reporting to stage manager Sarah Dawn Lowry. Amanda Bierbauer is production manager.

The show's producers are Leigh Crawford, Sam Sarkar, Anthony "Tony" Jones, Betsy Zajko and Burk Zanft.

Click HERE to read more about FOR THE LOVE OF A GLOVE.

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