MJ
Book by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Christopher Wheeldon
Neil Simon Theatre
Official Website
Reviewed by David Spencer
I’m as entertained—well, almost as entertained—as anyone by the by-now standard genre of pop-star biopic musical, but only a few times (Jersey Boys and Beautiful come to mind) have I been so to the point of feeling as if I’ve seen something well-dramatized, transporting and memorable…and worth a permanent place in musical theatre repertoire. Impressively put together, handsomely mounted and compellingly performed, sure: Given the icons that such shows are designed to celebrate, such qualities are the minimum requirement.
But more often than not, the storytelling amounts to a kind of theme-park continuity. Facts and highlights: ups very up, downs not terribly down, or anyway not for very long, and scandal given only cursory mention or detoured around altogether.
Such is MJ, a paean to Michael Jackson and his obsessive and excessive perfectionism. The book by Lynn Nottage gives us a variation on the familiar flashback template. While Michael is rehearsing for his latest tour, a documentary news team, reporter and cameraman are reluctantly given access. They catch the offhand moments that trigger the questions that trigger the memories.
Myles Frost electrically recreates the icon in song, dance and disturbingly androgynous (but accurate) detail, the rest of the cast matches him for intensity, skill and dedication, and it all flows smoothly under the direction of Christopher Wheeldon.
“But,” as Michael in the show asks demandingly of himself and his cohorts, “is it perfect?”
Not so much. But it is painlessly and agreeably what it is.