MJ The Musical (Lyric) ★★★★

Book by Lynn Nottage. Music & Lyrics by Michael Jackson et al. Lyric Theatre, Sydney. From 25 Feb 2025. 

No one has captured the pure joy and excitement of music quite like Michael Jackson. From pre-teen superstar to adult musical pioneer, MJ The Musical threads the needle between sugary pop perfection and a weighty examination of the man behind the mass hysteria. The result is a technically excellent piece of musical theatre that exceeds expectations. Put simply, MJ The Musical is… wait for it… thrilling.

I approached MJ The Musical with trepidation. Even before entering the theatre, it had three strikes against it: 1) It’s a jukebox musical, which I generally despise. 2) Its book is written by Lynn Nottage, a writer I don’t particularly enjoy. 3) Jackson’s legacy is tarnished by accusations of sexual abuse. Even the most generous viewer can’t completely avoid the ick factor.

The show is set in the rehearsal room of Jackson’s groundbreaking 1992 Dangerous World Tour, when Michael was at the peak of his power. After the iconic triple hit of his first three solo albums—Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad—the world awaited to see if he could continue the streak. 1991’s Dangerous was seen by many as a creative wobble: good but not on the same level as his past work. MJ The Musical is framed around a fictional interview with MTV, looking back at his earlier career and questioning him about the pressure to remain number one, as well as the many ridiculous tabloid stories about his life.

For most of Act 1, I felt the typical “biographical jukebox musical” pieces fall into place. Classic songs were presented as flashback performances, while others were slowly woven into the narrative as slightly awkward musical theatre songs, revealing inner thoughts and emotions. The show is part “covers concert,” part familiar history—all the usual elements you expect from a jukebox show.

And it’s staged brilliantly, with many of the cast playing dual roles, often aided only by Natasha Katz’s expressive lighting design. Derrick Davis especially shines in his dual roles as Michael’s father, Joseph, and Rob, the tour manager. Derek McLane’s scenic design, combined with Peter Nigrini’s projections, is equally impressive, seamlessly transitioning scenes so subtly you barely notice. It was when these seemingly small, often overlooked elements began to add up that I started to appreciate the craft on stage. Yes, it’s a jukebox musical, with all the usual problems that entails, but it’s executed with art and precision.

Book writer Lynn Nottage and the creative team have been astute in their choices. Setting the show in 1992 allows them to avoid the abuse allegations, which became public a year later. It’s a sidestep, but a clever/cynical one, giving the show plausible deniability and letting Jackson’s legion of fans (and the audience in general) momentarily off the hook.

The other advantage of basing the show around the Dangerous World Tour is that it limits the musical choices to Jackson’s glory days. While I personally enjoy some of the tracks from his later albums, they don’t have the same cultural impact as these early staples. As Michael strives to continuously raise the stakes on the tour and accomplish feats unheard of at the time (many of which are commonplace now), Nottage sketches out the image of a man driven to succeed by his personal pain. At its heart, this is a story about a boy and his distant, abusive father.

Act 2 is where the show really begins to shine. I’ve already mentioned the slightly awkward retrofitting of some pop songs into internal monologues, but once again, there is a smart use of the material to give MJ some psychological depth. A song you think has been featured and discarded in Act 1 makes a brilliant comeback in Act 2 for an absolutely show-stopping moment—you can probably guess which song I’m referring to.

Director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is a master at telling a story through movement (his choreography for An American In Paris remains one of my favourites— that dream ballet!). Reworking classic Jackson moves and creating new pieces that reference some of the greats, he draws clear connections between classic cinema, Soul Train, and Fosse’s style, all linked to Jackson. This show is electric, barely giving you a second to catch your breath.

The actors playing Michael are the heart and soul of the show. Roman Banks is astonishing as the adult Michael, and it’s clear why he was brought over from the US. He captures the humour and drive of the man, imbuing him with a humanity often missing in the caricatures we typically see. His vocal and dance performance do justice to the legend. Liam Damons radiates charm as Michael at his creative peak, making his solo albums while battling family pressure and industry indifference. Less guarded than Banks’s older version, Damons makes Michael both supremely likeable and sympathetic.

For many, the dark shadow of abuse allegations will hang over MJ The Musical, and while the show begs us to focus on the music rather than the man, it also goes to great lengths to suggest Jackson came to some kind of emotional epiphany (accompanied by The Man in the Mirror)—which is clearly false. Michael Jackson never changed his ways. His many demons remained with him to the very end.

There’s no denying the fact that this show excels on multiple levels. Michael Jackson’s influence and success are impossible to dismiss, ignore, or deny. He is also impossible to reduce to a musical, but MJ tries its hardest. The audience was ecstatic watching their musical hero come to life on stage (with the odd bit of drunken, rambunctious chatter and annoying singalongs – jukebox musicals tend to draw a less “theatrely” crowd).

The creative team have taken the limitations placed on them and made a show that is genuinely exciting and entertaining… it just depends on how much you care for Michael Jackson himself.