The Independent: When MJ the Musical – a major new Broadway show about Michael Jackson – opened earlier this year, a few reviews referenced the same song from the King of Pop’s back catalogue. “In MJ, No One’s Looking at the Man in the Mirror,” ran the headline from The New York Times. “Mesmerising parade of hits doesn’t look in the mirror,” went The Guardian’s. AP News was more direct – “Some thriller, lots bad” – while Vulture went niche, declaring that “MJ Exists in a Hyperbaric Chamber of Denial”.
3 comments:
I first heard of MJ the Musical when I went to New York City for college tours. At the time I had no idea that this musical was a thing or even on Broadway, but once I was in the city and saw the billboard I was surprised. I wondered much like this author about the pros and cons of producing a show that from what I had researched seemed very one-sided about Michael Jackson’s career. I had hoped to be able to see it on Broadway while I was in New York, but I ran out of time. I like how this article compares MJ the Musical to that of another famous artist, Bob Marley’s musical Get Up Stand Up. It’s interesting to see how Broadway used the songs of Bob Marley to highlight his womanizing tendencies, and I wonder why MJ the Musical entirely disregarded the subject of Michael Jackson’s allegations of child sexual abuse. I am intrigued to hear about how MJ the Musical will do over in London’s West End in 2024. Overall, this is not one of my top musicals to see on Broadway, but if given the opportunity I would like to see this musical to further understand the conversations happening about it.
When I first heard of MJ The Musical I had a very similar reaction to what this article is saying. On the one hand, I have heard amazing things about the show itself. It won many Tony awards and the performance that they gave at the Tony Awards was beyond amazing. Myles Frost, the young actor who plays Michael Jackson in the show, is absolutely incredible and there is a large part of me that demands to go see this show. However, the other part of me is saying that this is not the kind of production I should be supporting. Even though it is supposed to be and amazing show, it completely overlooks the problems of Michael Jackson and the harm that he caused. It ignores any and all allegations of child abuse that were made against him and only shows his good side. On top of that, it also directly supports his estate which denies he ever did anything wrong.
5. I’ve previously held the belief that as long as you aren’t financially supporting a harmful person, you can enjoy their work. This belief led me to think that listening to Michael Jackson’s music could do little harm considering he is dead, but TJ’s comment really makes me rethink this. MJ’s estate denies these claims, and therefore supporting this musical or his music supports an organization that downplays allegations. Just because we aren’t directly giving money to the artist, doesn’t mean further harm can’t be done by continuing to support them or showcase their work. It absolutely plays into the narrative that being rich and famous protects you from consequences and silences victims if we support a musical like this that ignores the reality of what happened. While Michael Jackson was pretty thoroughly “cancelled” back in 2006 despite the acquittal, his death brought on a new age of celebration. I wish his death had not caused this new wave of stardom. That is the MJ I grew up remembering as he died when I was 8. I had no memory of the allegations until more occurred around the time this musical was buzzing. MJ’s estate has continued to pay off or completely deny these allegations.
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