MJ: The Musical at the Peace Center
MJ: The Musical is a hybrid of an onstage biopic, a modern music history journey, and an unpredictably fluid musical. The Broadway production — at the Peace Center through Sunday, Sept. 7 — is a collaboration with Sony Entertainment and features a book by writer Lynn Notage and Christopher Wheeldon’s direction. The action takes place in 1992 during a comeback period wherein The King of Pop rehearses for his legendary Dangerous tour. Michael Jackson is documented with audio and video by a two person crew from MTV during said rehearsal, which takes place in Los Angeles.
In MJ, the stage motif is mostly black and gray with white light illuminating a background of tall art deco windows and one mysterious door. However, soon the many colors and stories from Jackson’s life fully come to life, thanks in part to the talents and efforts of Derek McLane (scenic design) and Natasha Katz (lighting design). As the play begins, the tone is intensely set in order to highlight the enormity of Jackson's vast impact on pop culture. Roughly a dozen background dancers, singers, management, security, and press are all on stage at this point and it’s not unusual to have nearly that many around during any given production number.
Jackson, who is notably private in his personal life, remains a creature of form and habit in the beginning stages of the play. He is well depicted and brought to life by the talented Jordan Markus. Fully on display is his signature perfectionism, genius, professionalism, and workaholism. One of the amazing aspects of this already brilliant masterpiece occurs when two scenes transpire on stage simultaneously, not only representing two different time periods projected from Michael's memory but also doing so with seamless lucidity.
The costumes (courtesy of costume designer Paul Tazewell) range from classy to casual to psychedelic, spanning through the decades that comprise MJ's life and career. Much of the movement is accompanied by a live band led by Nathaniel Wilkerson, giving great interpretations of classic Jackson 5, solo Michael Jackson, and much more — including intimate glimpses into his early heroic inspirations. Vistas into MJ’s past are obviously scattered throughout many scenes, which subsequently introduce his family.
Michael’s controversial father Joseph “Joe” Jackson is a theme and subject hauntingly revisited throughout this work. Devin Bowles naturally and realistically portrays the authoritarian figure driven by discontent and fear of failure, which is therefore projected and bestowed upon his children. Rajane’ Katurah gracefully steps into the shoes of the mother Katherine Jackson, who’s often torn in a battle between nurture and nature. Little Michael is captured by two young prodigal performers, Quentin Blanton Jr. and Bryce A. Holmes.
One can only imagine the amount of rehearsal, time, energy and diligent sacrifice that goes into such an elaborate production. MJ:The Musical never even has the chance to disappoint or become boring, in fact, it often accelerates engagement with each new scene. It does not necessarily feel like a traditional musical, nor a traditional play, and largely because of that creativity, I recommend venturing out to enjoy this magnificent display of art, dreams, talent, and the sheer strength of humanity.
MJ: The Musical is playing at the Peace Center through Sunday, Sept. 7. For tickets and more information, visit peacecenter.org.
(Photo by Matthew Murphy)
