Marin Heinritz

There’s everything we want and more in a dramatic story: compelling characters, lively action, all kinds of complications and strong desires, romance, violence, and comic relief—with fantastic movement and sometimes stark contrasts between the world of performance, in the circus tent, and the dramas playing out behind the scenes.

And it’s a delight. Whether you’re a Neil Diamond fan, just someone who can’t help chiming in whenever you hear 'Sweet Caroline' in a crowd, or even if you roll your eyes at the idea of Adult Contemporary hits, the songs are unassailable. Diamond wrote some brilliant tunes, and Nick Fradiani, the 2015 American Idol winner, channels Diamond’s voice as well as his conflicted spirit. Morose and depressed in his personal life but ebullient as a stage presence, he captures the 'velvet wrapped in gravel' and wonderful phrasing unique to Diamond’s singing—without veering into cheap imitation. Fradiani’s performance is extraordinary, and his success is ultimately what makes this show so utterly enjoyable.

Countless clever choices abound in this utterly entertaining, rollicking fun night at the theatre. This “Clue” is a very satisfying and playful game sprung to life: a murder mystery to lift the spirits."

Justin Collette’s Beetlejuice is filthy and bawdy but rarely truly loathsome. Part stand-up comedian vying for laughs with a rapid-fire succession of punchlines, and part queer, hyper-sexed Frank-n-Furter, this jagged-up, lonely-hearted prisoner of the underworld does inspire laughter, and his political jokes land especially well (“I’m invisible, powerless, like a gay Republican”); however, he’s everywhere all at once, visually represented in one of the better musical numbers wherein every member of the ensemble becomes a Beetlejuice clone, and he’s working awfully hard for less payoff than anyone wants.

Though the conceit of “MJ” is quite simple, the elevation comes from brilliant execution from start to finish. From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s clever book to Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Christopher Wheeldon’s brilliant vision, and all the world-class performers who bring this tale to light—part live music video, part concert, part biopic woven together like a brilliant musical memoir driven as much by innovative dance as anything else, “MJ” is wonderfully entertaining, hugely moving, and raises the bar for what jukebox musicals can do.