Review: MJ National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

MJ is a jukebox/biographical musical that follows the life and career of singer Michael Jackson. Centered around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, this show offers a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Jackson into legendary status. Originally, this musical was set to have its out-of-town tryout in Chicago in the fall of 2019, but Michael Jackson's estate ultimately canceled it due to schedule difficulties brought upon by an Actor's Equity Association strike.

The show was then set to open cold in New York in the summer of 2020, but got delayed due to performances all over the New York theatre district shutting down thanks to COVID-19. Following quite a bumpy road, MJ finally opened on February 1st, 2022 at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. It went on to receive 10 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical), winning 4 accolades overall.

I’ve seen a number of jukebox/biographical musicals over the years. This one in particular does a number of unique things to make it stand out from the crowd. For one, the book by Lynn Nottage follows such a smart structure. Rather than doing the usual cradle to the grave format in most biographical stories, MJ takes an important part of Michael Jackson’s career and focuses on that. We the audience also get several flashbacks to earlier parts of his life, which I thought were used very effectively. Plus, there’s also some comic relief that flows naturally with the tone of the show. Did I mention that Nottage found clever ways of reimagining some of Jackson’s greatest hits as book numbers?

Director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon provides quite imaginative staging and incredible dance sequences. The overall look of the production is outstanding. From Natasha Katz’s amazing lighting to Peter Nigrini’s impressive projections to Derek McLane’s handsome sets to Paul Tazewell’s fantastic costumes. David Holcenberg & Jason Michael Webb’s orchestrations of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits are phenomenal. Not to mention that Gareth Owen’s sound design perfectly keeps everything heard on stage amplified enough to prevent it from becoming too loud.

Leading the cast as MJ himself is Roman Banks. He gives a dynamic performance, successfully capturing the essence of the real Michael Jackson in terms of both physicality and vocals without ever coming across as an impersonation. Brandon Lee Harris and Josiah Benson (who went on at the performance I attended) both do a great job of portraying Middle Michael and Little Michael, respectively. I found Mary Kate Moore to be charismatic as Rachel, the reporter who interviews MJ during the making of his Dangerous tour. Anastasia Talley gives heartfelt work as Michael’s mom, Katherine Jackson.

In the end, MJ is one of the most well crafted jukebox/biographical musicals out there. It’s very innovative in the storytelling and the stagecraft. It’s got some great songs done justice by the cast and the onstage orchestra. Most of all, the show lives up to The King of Pop’s legacy.

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This national touring production is currently playing at the Durham Performing Arts Center through October 22nd. For more information, please visit: https://www.dpacnc.com/events/detail/mj-the-musical-2023

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