MJ Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 12:00am

Broadway is about to get hit by a smooth criminal. 

MJ, the new jukebox musical featuring the music of Michael Jackson, begins previews tomorrow night at the Neil Simon Theatre, prior to an official opening on February 1. The show features a book by Lynn Nottage and direction and choreography by Christopher Wheeldon. The 24-member cast – including swings - is led by Myles Frost, making his Broadway debut as the King of Pop; it also features Quentin Earl Darrington, Whitney Bashor, and Gabriel Ruiz. 

“MJ is the electrifying new Broadway musical that takes audiences inside the creative mind of one of the greatest entertainers in history. Featuring over 25 of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, MJ allows us to rediscover the man in the mirror – with an explosion of music and theatricality as unforgettable as the artist himself.”

Who’s up for a thriller?

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 12:34am

I keep forgetting this is a thing.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 7:27am

n2nbaby said: "I keep forgetting this is a thing."

SAME. I saw an ad on here for the show saying "STARTS PREVIEWS DECEMBER 7" and that reminded me that I had completely forgotten about the show.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:14am

n2nbaby said: "I keep forgetting this is a thing."

That could be a good thing.

[Wick3]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:33am

I’m guessing will be an invited dress rehearsal today or tomorrow?

Rooting for Myles Frost!!!!!!!!

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:51am

Wick3 said: "I’m guessing will be an invited dress rehearsal today or tomorrow?

Rooting for Myles Frost!!!!!!!!"

MJ had an invited dress last night. From initial reactions on social, people are loving it.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 10:51am

Well, you’re not going to have people sharing negative criticism from an invited dress. 
 

I keep forgetting the show is happening, too, but their Instagram account has almost 45k followers already. I think the show is as close to a sure thing, at least for a while, as Broadway gets these days. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 11:11am

I'm reading grousing elsewhere with the usual anti-juke-ish arguments. The bottom line: Broadway in 2021-2022 needs hits, of any shape and size. The more the better.

And Lynn Nottage writing the book, like Dominique Moriseau creating Ain't Too Proud's, certainly provides the piece with an authenticity of voice. Two noted women of color penning Broadway musicals is cause for celebration any season, any day.  

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 12:19pm

"Two noted women of color penning Broadway musicals is cause for celebration any season, any day." 

What a gorgeous and wonderful comment. Can't wait to see her work in a few weeks. 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 1:13pm

Auggie27 said: "I'm reading grousing elsewhere with the usual anti-juke-ish arguments. The bottom line: Broadway in 2021-2022 needs hits, of any shape and size. The more the better.

And Lynn Nottage writing the book, like Dominique Moriseau creating Ain't Too Proud's, certainly provides the piece with an authenticity of voice. Two noted women of color penning Broadway musicals is cause for celebration any season, any day."

Three. Black and out playwright Christina Anderson (Good Goods, How to Catch Creation) is the author of the book for Paradise Square, with some additional material by Marcus Gardley (The House That Will Not Stand). 

[Zion24]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 3:11pm

i cant see how this isnt a monster hit, some of the best music ever recorded live on broadway. tourists will flock. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 4:23pm

JDonaghy4 said: "tourists will flock."

Assuming for sake of argument that they would, one must ask: what tourists? A month from today, the general consensus is they will be few and far between. So we start with a doubly reduced market (winter+omicron), from which we subtract the not-insubstantial percentage of the remaining market that abhors the idea of seeing a creep on stage, from which we also subtract the not-insubstantial percentage of folks who are over bio-jukebox musicals, and we are likely down in Diana territory. Good luck.

[Kad]

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

I understand the misgivings about its prospects, and I am certainly someone who does not think Jackson is worthy of another paean to his brilliance, but I do think that you're underestimating the wide and entrenched appeal of Michael Jackson. Short of another large, disruptive wave of COVID (and the jury is still out on omicron, though we'll have more answers in the next week or so), I think this will be fine- at the very least for a while.

Updated On: 12/5/21 at 07:36 PM

[Zion24]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 8:49pm

HogansHero said: "JDonaghy4 said: "tourists will flock."

Assuming for sake of argument that they would, one must ask: what tourists? A month from today, the general consensus is they will be few and far between. So we start with a doubly reduced market (winter+omicron), from which we subtract the not-insubstantial percentage of the remaining market that abhors the idea of seeing a creep on stage, from which we also subtract the not-insubstantial percentage of folks who are over bio-jukebox musicals, and we are likely down in Diana territory. Good luck."

First of all, I don't agree that Omnicron is about to plunge us back into mass quarantine, or anything close to it. This has morphed into a plague for the unvaccinated, and a manageable disturbance for the rest of us. Since Broadway already has excluded the unvaxxed from its potential audience base, I dont see how Omnicron makes much of a dent.

That said, when I say MJ will be a hit, I guess I mean "relative hit based on today's overall weaker broadway attendance." If Broadway is generally down 25%, I'm not saying MJ will buck that trend entirely. But in the new universe we live in, if a tourist needs a show to spend some cash on that the family will enjoy, its hard to see how MJ would not be on that list. His music is deservedly popular in ways few others' is. 

None of that has anything to do with the moral rot associated with this show, one which should shame those creatively associated with it. Im talking strictly in terms of whether a big Michael Jackson score will sell, and I bet it will. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 8:54pm

I am not really underestimating the appeal because I get the appeal of the songs and the performance of them personally. If I am underestimating anything, it's how long the family will be willing to underwrite the show because I really don't think we are going to have many tourists to depend on this winter and I think much more established shows are going to have serious trouble crawling through the dark days of winter. My personal take on omicron (obviously just a guess at this point) is that it will be no big deal in terms of seriousness but crazy contagious. If that's correct, it is going to wreak havoc on the extant Broadway protocols, and on travel -- especially international travel. The latter is already having a chilling effect on the bump that we have seen since the great reopening. If there is a decent chance people are going to get infected and stuck in a foreign country for some not-all-expense-paid extra vacation, that's going to convince a lot of people to stay home. And bear in mind that the perception of the US to foreign travelers is not focused on Manhattan.  All of this said, Let me re-emphasize I don't know anything.  

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:04pm

I'm quite worried Hogan might be on to something. While it does seem as though Omicron might be milder, especially among the unvaccinated, it does seem to be much more contagious. Right now a handful of positive tests shut down a show for a few days. So it doesn't matter how mild it is, the damage is still done. It doesn't really matter how "mild" things are if a positive test is all it takes to shut down a show for a few days. 

I have a trip booked for next week and I'm worried this might derail our trip. If I had a trip booked for two weeks from now, I'd be even more worried. I'm not worried that I'll get Covid or that Non-Broadway New York will get shut down... but I am worried one (or many) of our shows will cancel because of positive tests. I probably wouldn't have booked a trip under these circumstances and I doubt I'm alone?

[Zion24]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:25pm

im not a scientist but my very limited understanding is that the majority of those infected with it are not vaccinated. i hear your point re the specific worry re Bway shows which have to shutter regardless of the severity of the infection

but AGAIN that speaks to whether Broadway as a whole will be crippled in the coming months by this thing. we can disagree on that (who knows?) but that has nothing to do with whether MJ would do any worse than, say, Wicked or Moulin Rouge. Yes, Broadway as a whole could come to a grinding halt but it would be silly to then say "See? MJ was a failure." 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 9:56pm

There appear to be a ton of breakthrough infections from Omicron. There also appear to be a lot more breakthough infections in NYC that presumably are not omicron. (maybe they are and we just don't know it yet.) The anime convention gives us a pretty clear picture of what we are facing, unless it has some other explanation. Yes, the unvaccinated idiots are 10 times as likely to get sick, but we are seeing infections in my 99.9% fully vaccinated neighborhood, so that tells us something. The hopeful scenario of a month ago is evolving into something more cautious. I am not worried because I am triple vaxxed now and I am well masked when indoors. This does not give me pause about going to the theatre; I believe in my mask. But it is going to affect casts and companies, and it is going to affect tourism which is already way off and projected to fall without regard to omicron. 

I don't think anyone is talking about mass quarantine, but quarantine is a real issue for potential travelers. I am not suggesting MJ (or Diana or Doubtfire etc) are going to be directly affected differently but they are all on precarious footing that some shows are not. (As I have said repeatedly, I think a lot of shows are on precarious footing without regard to this new challenge, and I expect many shows are going to be gone soon.) MJ does not have the foundation that some shows have so yes it will fare differently than, say, TMM among new shows and shows like Hamilton of course. The question is who will be able to stay afloat until the Spring. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 10:31pm

I stil would like to understand how Christopher Wheeldon ended up as the director on this...

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 10:49pm

The news about the Omicron variant is all over the place. Here in the UK we are told its far more transmissible, we don't know how bad it is yet (just speculation). We do know thar it is NOT just unvacinated people getting it, its also a lot of double vaccinated people. 

[Zion24]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 10:59pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "I stil would like to understand how Christopher Wheeldon ended up as the director on this..."

the same way Lynn Nottage did. The Estate's got a lot of money.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/6/21 at 12:19am

 

Updated On: 12/9/21 at 12:19 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/6/21 at 1:38am

I've no doubt it's a good paycheck for all involved hence why they got who they got. Wheldon is an odd choice just given his background, so I'm def. curious to hear about this. I'm not a MJ fan but I'm a Nottage fan so I'm happy she will have 2 shows running on Broadway at the same time. 

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 12/6/21 at 7:56am

So…..any reviews from anyone that went last night?

Ive seen a lot of posts saying this will be a sure hit, printing money, etc. but when I checked last week it seemed like after the first month or so houses are about half full. Are people expecting this to sell based on word of mouth and same day tourists?

[Tjlovesmusicals]

Posted: 12/6/21 at 9:28am

Have we heard anything about rush / lottery yet?