MJ the Musical

MJ the Musical is a jukebox musical based on the life of the American entertainer Michael Jackson, focusing on his creative process prior to the Dangerous World Tour. It features Jackson's music, with a book by Lynn Nottage, and direction & choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
MJ was scheduled to premiere on Broadway in mid-2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. In November 2019, Ephraim Sykes was cast as Jackson, but in June 2021 it was announced that he had been replaced by Myles Frost. The production began previews at the Neil Simon Theatre on December 6, 2021, and officially opened on February 1, 2022. It opened in the London West End on March 27, 2024 and running until February 28, 2026.
MJ The Musical received mixed reviews from critics but universal acclaim from audiences. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, with the musical winning four awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for Frost, as well as Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. The original cast recording was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. By December 2025 the Broadway production had grossed over $300 million and sold more than 5 million tickets worldwide.

Synopsis

Act I

In June 1992, the cast members are preparing for rehearsals for Jackson's upcoming Dangerous World Tour; the first show in Munich, Germany is in two days. Rob, their manager, tells them to get into their places and warm up. Jackson arrives and watches the process, which leads to the opening number.
As Jackson shares his newest ideas with Rob, Rachel arrives with her cameraman, Alejandro, in hopes of getting an interview with Jackson. He sits with Rachel and recounts some of the terrors he suffered as a child and some of the memorable times when Berry Gordy played his family's hits on his Motown label. Jackson also discusses his collaboration with Quincy Jones and recording his albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad with Jones.
Rob and Nick escort Jackson to the press conference at Radio City Music Hall, where he presents his tour and hopes to raise $100 million for the Heal the World Foundation by Christmas 1993.

Act II

Jackson proposes new ideas for the tour, which Rob and Dave tell him are impractical and that they cannot afford it. Jackson recounts the horrific accident in 1984 when a spark ignited his hair in the making of an advertisement for Pepsi. After listening to Rob's negative feedback, Jackson reminds him of something Quincy said to him, "Keep the faith. Don't let nobody take you down".
As the rehearsal continues, Jackson tells Rachel how the songs open up to him. During a break, a commotion breaks out. Rob tries to keep Rachel away from Jackson and doesn't want her near him, but Jackson manages to find her by disguising himself as a cleaner. He explains to her that the disguise is the only way he can be seen in public, which leads to him singing "Human Nature". After the rehearsal, Jackson explains to Rachel how emotional he feels about being loved by fans and about being teased in the newspapers. He tries to blame everything sad and unusual about himself on others but takes sole credit for his good deeds and success.
As Rob comes to check up on him, Jackson recalls when he played at the Apollo Theater with the Jackson 5 and how he wasn't nervous. Rob tells Jackson that everything they created would be remembered for decades, but the latter replies by asking "Is it perfect?". Jackson appears on stage, prepared to start the first show of the Dangerous Tour, ", "Black or White" / "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ".

Cast and characters

Character	Broadway	US National Tour	West End	Hamburg	Australia
Character	2021	2023	2024	2024	2025
Michael Jackson	Myles Frost	Roman Banks	Myles Frost	Benét Monteiro	Roman Banks / Ilario Grant
Teenage Michael / Young Adult Michael	Tavon Olds-Sample	Brandon Lee Harris	Mitchell Zhangazha	Prince Damien	Liam Damons
Little Michael	Christian Wilson / Walter Russell III	Josiah Benson / Ethan Joseph	Jaydon Eastman / Elliot Mugume / Ethan Sokontwe / Dylan Trigger	Luan Kizua	Blaiyze Barksdale / William Bonner / Cayden Dosoruth / Daniel Makunike
Jackie Jackson	John Edwards	Jay McKenzie	Tavio Wright	Prince Orji	Kyle Kavully
Tito Jackson / Quincy Jones	Apollo Levine	Josh A. Dawson	Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton	DNPRI	Conlon Bonner
Jermaine Jackson	Lamont Walker II	Bryson Jacobi Jackson	Simeon Montague	William Baugh	Loredo Malcolm
Little Marlon	Devin Trey Campbell	Jaylen Lyndon Hunter	Cristiano Cuino / Sekhani Dumezweni / Khanya Madaka / Aidan Oti	Nayo	Kayleb Alese / Charlie Batchelor / Zavier Pillay / Kael Smith
Marlon Jackson	Zelig Williams	Brion Marquis Watson	Toyan Thomas-Browne	Rafael Portela	Xavier Gibson
Randy Jackson	Raymond Baynard	Malcolm Miles Young	Aden Dzuda	Caleaf Henson	G Madison IV
Joe Jackson / Rob	Quentin Earl Darrington	Devin Bowles	Ashley Zhangazha	David Hughey	Derrick Davis
Katherine Jackson	Ayana George	Anastasia Talley	Phebe Edwards	Jessica Mears	Josslynn Hlenti Afoa
Berry Gordy / Nick	Antoine L. Smith	J. Daughtry	Matt Mills	Perci Moeketsi	Wonza Johnson
Rachel	Whitney Bashor	Mary Kate Moore	Philippa Stefani	Eve Rades	Penny McNamee
Alejandro	Gabriel Ruíz	Da'von Moody	Matt Gonsalves	Pedro Reichert	Yashith Fernando
Dave	Joey Sorge	Matt Loehr	Jon Tsouras	Mario Gremlich	Tim Wright

Notable cast replacements

Broadway (2021–2025)

Michael Jackson: Elijah Johnson
Katherine Jackson: Sasha Allen
Musical numbers

;Act I

"Beat It" – MJ, Company, and Orchestra
"Tabloid Junkie" / "Price of Fame" – MJ and Rachel
"Shout" / "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" / " Higher and Higher" – Ensemble
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" – Little Michael
"The Love You Save" / "I Want You Back" / "ABC" – Little Michael, Little Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie
"I'll Be There" – Katherine, Little Michael, MJ
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" / "Blame It on the Boogie" / "Dancing Machine" – MJ, Teenage Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Company
"Stranger in Moscow" – MJ
"You Can't Win" – Berry Gordy and Teenage Michael
"I Can't Help It" – Quincy Jones and Young Adult Michael
"Keep the Faith" – Quincy Jones and Young Adult Michael
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" – Young Adult Michael, MJ and Ensemble
"Earth Song" / "They Don't Care About Us" – MJ and Ensemble

;Act II

"Billie Jean" – MJ
"Smooth Criminal" – MJ and Ensemble
"For the Love of Money" / "Can You Feel It" – Joseph Jackson, Young Adult Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Orchestra
"Money" – Joseph Jackson
"Keep the Faith " – Rob, MJ, and Ensemble
"She's Out of My Life" – MJ and Young Adult Michael
"Jam" – MJ, Ensemble, and Orchestra
"Human Nature" – MJ and Rachel
"Bad" / "2 Bad" – MJ, Company and Orchestra
"Price of Fame " – MJ
"Thriller" – Little Michael, MJ, Joseph Jackson and Ensemble
"Man in the Mirror" – Company
"Jam " / "Black or White" / "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " – Company
"Working Day and Night" – Orchestra

Performances on October 31 also include a special Halloween closing number of "Thriller"

Recordings

Recording for the original Broadway cast album took place on February 7 and 8, 2022. The original Broadway cast recording was released on July 15, 2022. The original cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Development

The musical was announced in June 2018 with the backing of Michael Jackson's estate. Wheeldon spoke about the musical, stating, "The show is very much anchored in one particular moment in time. I always bring up the fabulous movie that Spielberg made about Lincoln: You take one key moment, I suppose, in the history of someone's life and then sort of use that as an anchor point for past storytelling and, perhaps, some kind of prophecy of what's to come. We'll be doing that with this story." Asked about the dance and choreography, he said he "intend to put quite a lot of Michael's work in the show".

Productions

Broadway (2021)

MJ was originally scheduled to premiere in Chicago in 2019, at the Nederlander Theatre. The Michael Jackson estate canceled the Chicago tryout due to "scheduling difficulties" brought about by an Actors' Equity Association strike.
The musical was scheduled to debut on Broadway in mid-2020 but was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, and it features a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage. Scenery for the production is designed by Derek McLane with costuming by Paul Tazewell. Natasha Katz and Peter Nigrini are collaborating on lighting and projection designs respectively. Gareth Owen designed sound production, with hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe. Elijah Johnson took over as Jackson in March 2023 until August 2025. Matte Martinez then stepped into the title role of the production in September 2025.