MJ The Musical at the Eccles

Last night I had so much fun seeing MJ The Musical at the Eccles Theatre.  I am a big fan of Michael Jackson's music so I literally had to stop myself from singing along with every song!  This is a jukebox musical featuring many of Jackson's best known hits and it tells his life story but the premise is very clever.  Michael Jackson is creating his 1992 Dangerous World Tour and is facing resistance from his tour manager Rob and his financial advisor Dave because some of his ideas are deemed impossible and too expensive.  He refuses to compromise his vision and rehearses the numbers in the show, including "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," "Jam," "Bad," and "Black or White."  In between numbers he is interviewed for a documentary by Rachel and her cameraman Alejandro and he recounts his experiences with the Jackson 5 ("The Love You Save," "I Want You Back," and "ABC"), his fear of never pleasing his father Joe ("I'll Be There"), his decision to leave Berry Gordy at Motown to collaborate with Quincy Jones ("Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"), his fear that the new album and tour won't live up to expectations ("They Don't Care About Us"), and his frustrations with the press ("Human Nature").  He finally faces his demons ("Thriller") and decides to let his music tell the story ("Man in the Mirror").  As you can imagine, the elaborate choreography is absolutely amazing and it brilliantly recreates some of Jackson's most iconic performances (my favorite was "Billie Jean," which mimics his performance at the Motown 25th Anniversary concert, because I have vivid memories of watching it at the time).  I also really enjoyed the staging of the musical numbers because the rehearsal of the tour takes place on a stripped down stage and the flashbacks feature projections and set pieces that are moved seamlessly on and off that same stage as if Michael is remembering events as he is describing them to Rachel.  Specific songs are used very well to advance the narrative about Jackson's life (I especially loved "Stranger in Moscow" because, even though it was written after the Dangerous World Tour, it perfectly illustrates the isolation Jackson feels as his ideas are rejected) so it feels like a story rather than just a concert.  Three different actors portray Jackson at different stages of his life.  MJ (Roman Banks) rehearses the tour while Michael (Brandon Lee Harris) and Little Michael (Josiah Benson) appear in the flashback sequences.  All three give outstanding performances and there were moments when it really seemed like it was actually Michael Jackson on the stage (Benson is adorable).  Almost all of the ensemble play multiple roles and they sometimes transform from one to the other right on stage.  Having Devin Bowles portray both Joe Jackson and Rob is especially effective because both characters serve the same function in Jackson's life.  This is a high-energy show that fans of Michael Jackson are sure to enjoy and I highly recommend it.  It runs at the Eccles Theatre though March 3 (go here for tickets).