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Matthew Murphy
Jordan Markus as MJ and Devin Bowles, who portrays Joe Jackson and Rob, the tour director.
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Matthew Murphy
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Matthew Murphy
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Matthew Murphy
Little Michael and his mother Katherine, played by Anastasia Talley.
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Matthew Murphy
Josh Dawson as Quincy Jones, left, and Erik Hamilton as Michael during the "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" era.
Bass Hall this week is hosting a portrayal of the King of Pop in a nearly three-hour performance that will leave audiences exhausted, exhilarated, and a bit heartbroken, knowing how this Greek tragedy ultimately ends.
“MJ: The Musical,” the Tony Award-winning jukebox musical, is in town through Sunday.
It stars Jordan Markus as the only person to have played the title role of Michael Jackson — "MJ" — in all three global productions — on Broadway, the current national tour, and London’s West End.
On Tuesday, in addition to Markus, the show featured standout performances from Bane Griffith (Little Michael), Rajané Katurah (Rachel), Jay McKenzie (Berry Gordy/Nick), and Kendrick Mitchell (Quincy Jones/Tito Jackson). Bryce Holmes, a 12-year-old from Colleyville, portrays little Marlon Jackson, while serving as an understudy to Little Michael.
The musical is centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour and a documentary team from MTV that follows Jackson behind the scenes, capturing his creative process, rehearsals, and the intense pressures of life on the road. It portrays Jackson as losing touch with reality because of an incessant drive for perfection in his art and outlandish ambitions for props.
The musical was created Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.
"MJ" offers a unique look at the creative genius and imaginative mind of Michael Jackson. Critics have praised the show for its spectacular choreography and dance performances that honor Jackson's legacy and groundbreaking career as a performer and American cultural icon; strong vocal performances; impressive production values; and creative staging of his most popular songs.
If it’s the music and a walk through memory lane, this could be the best ticket money can buy. It’s fantastic.
Markus’ work as Jackson has received well-deserved praise for accurately capturing the singer’s movements, vocal style, and mannerisms. There is humor. "God channels [ideas] through me at night. I can't sleep because I'm so supercharged. If I'm not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince." In another scene, MJ says, "I don't even drink Pepsi."
The sympathetic portrayal, however, completely avoids the scandal that enveloped Jackson’s life after the landmark commercial success of “Thriller” and “Bad.” “Thriller” remains the best-selling album of all-time with more than 70 million copies sold worldwide. It was also the first album to have seven top 10 singles.
Jackson won a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984.
The production effectively interlaces Jackson’s life story with performances of those irresistible Jackson Five classics, highlighting how the group’s precocious, freakishly gifted frontman captivated audiences worldwide.
Though sanitized, the musical provides an unvarnished portrayal of Jackson’s father, whose physical and emotional abuse played a pivotal role in shaping Jackson’s psychological formation. The protagonist is clearly stalked by demons that manifest in self-destruction and God only knows what else.
On stage, this plays out in scenes of pill-popping and a performer undone financially and emotionally by obsession, exhaustion, and relentless ambition.
Though the examination of one of America’s enigmatic pop culture figures lacks depth, the answer to the question about whether you should go see this is a resounding “hell yes.”
