Month: August 2023

Review: MJ THE MUSICAL First National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago 

Review: MJ THE MUSICAL First National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago 

The national tour debut of the Michael Jackson jukebox musical plays through September 2 

Is MJ THE MUSICAL a fun and entertaining musical that treats audiences to many of Michael Jackson’s iconic hits? Yes. Does MJ also demonstrate why bio jukebox musicals are tricky? Yes. In the musical, MJ emphatically tells fictional MTV reporter Rachel that he wants to be remembered for his music. But can the art be separated from the artist, or are the two intertwined in all their messy, complicated ways? I don’t have an answer to that question, but I think MJ struggles with making the struggles and demons of a complex person — the real-life Michael Jackson — seem simplistic.

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