A walk through time, with "MJ The Musical"...The Heart of Michael Jackson.

MJ the Musical, opened on Broadway in December 2021 and still fills theatres everywhere it opens. Across the pond, I am privileged to be a part of the audience in this featured show four years later.

You approach the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End on Compton Street...Just North of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.

The streets teem with people from every walk of life, open cinemas offer lovely undersea and otherworldly scenes of fauna and floral beauty. MJ music echoes everywhere, from fairytale pumpkin rides, to unique transport offering service...all leading to the concert.

The lines are long at the theatre, but moves surprisingly fast...Excitement buzzes...

We queue for the anticipation of seeing a glimpse into the amazing life that is billed as, MJ...The Musical...to remember a King.

The King of Pop.

There are snapshots everywhere, pleasant reminders of dance moves unrivaled...a personality...familiar, yet a little out of reach...etched in our memories.

The stage is set...it sits quiet, exposed...teasing our anticipation...dancers and actors appear randomly...stretching...posing...awakening our imagination...awaiting the presentation of a life which broke the divide, leaped the barricades of boundaries and united the world.

Lovely ushers appear...bearing 'absolutely no cell phones during the performance' signs. Very disappointing...alas, no pics for future enjoyment.

Enters Michael...and

The show begins with the rock number on his 1982 Thriller album..."Beat It". A thrill with a social message, inspired by gang activity in his hometown in Indiana. He uses music to reunite two rival gangs. If only culture could truly listen, hear, learn and universally change.

This is followed by a trio of upbeat numbers performed by Little Michael with his brothers Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie as The Jackson 5. Manager/patriarch Joe Jackson lurks during the performances...a force to be reckoned with. His mother plays go-between and an anchor through the hard times.

There is an interplay...a looking back at his life in dramatic musical presentations...a progressive aging of his character into who he becomes.

"The Love You Save" features witty references to historical figures, including Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus. The infectiously catchy "I Want You Back" marked the first time 11-year-old Michael performed lead vocals. "ABC" compares learning about love with learning the alphabet.

“I’ll Be There” (1970) , comes in with a slow tempo, showcasing pre-teen Michael’s maturity and a group which could sing ballads as well as upbeat pop songs. In MJ, it’s a tender moment performed as a trio by Little Michael, MJ, and mother Katherine.

"Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough" introduced signature vocals. ‘Blame It on the Boogie’ was next. "Dancing Machine" popularised the ‘robot’ street dance technique. A medley, performed by MJ, Teenage Michael with the Jackson brothers.

“Stranger in Moscow” (1995)

Michael and the relentless 'press'. In 1993, accused of child abuse...he cancelled his, Dangerous World Tour. The song, from his HIStory album, explores fear and isolation using the Russian capital as a metaphor.

“You Can’t Win” (1978)

“I Can’t Help It” (1979)

“Keep the Faith” (1991)

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (1982)

“Earth Song” / "They Don’t Care About Us” (1995/1996)

“Billie Jean” (1983)

“Smooth Criminal” (1987)

“For the Love of Money” / "Can You Feel It” (1973 / 1981)

“Keep the Faith” (reprise) (1991)

“She’s Out of My Life” (1980)

“Jam” (1992) Opening track to Dangerous. “Nation to nation, all the world must come together”.

Human Nature” (1983)

“Bad” / "2 Bad” (1987) ...inspired by West Side Story, plus moonwalking.

“Thriller” (1983) ...

“The Man in the Mirror” (1988)

Backed by a gospel choir, "The Man in the Mirror” is heartfelt, advocating for personal and social change: “I'm starting with the man in the mirror / I'm asking him to change his ways / And no message could have been any clearer / If you wanna make the world a better place / Take a look at yourself and then make a change".

“Jam” (reprise) / "Black and White” / "Wanna Be Startin’ Something”  (1992/1991/1983)

The finale: a resounding reprise of “Jam;”, “Black and White,” a call for racial harmony; followed by a reprise of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.”

Other songs

“Tabloid Junkie” / "The Price of Fame” /“Shout” / "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” performed by the ensemble; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” sung by Little Michael; “Money” sung by Joe – and “Workin’ Night and Day” performed by the orchestra at the end of the show.

An evening well spent...leaving us hoping for more as the curtain falls.

Throughout the show we were made to walk with Michael through his journey, his joys, sorrows, heartbreaks...but mostly his triumphs...His incredible achievements despite life's ability to derail humans, rendering them vulnerable at a moment's notice.

He hovered on the periphery during moments of the show...as if an angel, watching, observing the players...and us... from afar as we replayed his life upon the theatre of life.

Beautiful and jaw droppingly well staged. Four stars indeed!

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Why are we, as humans...willing to travel miles...hours, sometimes days, to sit and watch the life's journey, the joys and sorrows and great achievement of another fellow being.

Many and varied may be the answers.

Some people inspire awe, love, joy, some terror...others evil, tyranny and dictatorship. The majority of us are empowered with gifts which most may see as ordinary - I see us ordinary mortals as vastly untapped potential awaiting discovery.

But the chosen few...Like our Beloved Michael Jackson, lived in a world seen only through his eyes...with the ability so astound, to dazzle...and for just a short while...ascend our minds to places where the imagination forgets its earthly banality...

We enter a world where he sings and dances to flights of transcendental fancy and wonder....Dazzling...bewildering...

Unforgettable.

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One forgets that it's Myles Frost or Jamaal Fields-Green who dances... and not Michael Jackson himself, in the smash-hit musical at the Prince Edward Theatre – on Broadway, or the US national tour in London.

Thanks to my family for this rare treat. A wonder to cheer my day.

Beauty was everywhere.

Fiction superimposed upon truth.