About the work
MJ the Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, built on the songbook of Michael Jackson, premiered on Broadway in 2022. The work won four Tony Awards, including Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
Plot
The action begins in 1992, during rehearsals for Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour. A television crew follows the preparations and gains insight into the superstar's artistic creative process. In flashbacks the musical recounts Jackson's rise with the Jackson 5, the formative—and burdensome—influence of his father, and the relentless perfectionism that shaped his stagecraft as much as his life. The work focuses deliberately on Jackson's creative genius.
Cultural significance
MJ celebrates the groundbreaking stage and dance artistry of the "King of Pop" with worldwide hits from Beat It and Smooth Criminal to Man in the Mirror. Lynn Nottage's book seeks to place the creative process at the centre, while the controversial sides of Jackson's life are largely left out. As a high-energy dance spectacle, the work became a major commercial success and touring hit.