MJ THE MUSICAL

Prince Edward Theatre

★★★

“a stellar cast and jaw-dropping technical wizardry”

Michael Jackson is one of the most chronicled yet enigmatic pop icons in history. ‘MJ the Musical’ attempts to demystify the legend, exploring the demons that haunt his artistic genius. Despite this ambition, the production only partially succeeds in illuminating a tortured soul, ironically lacking a little heart itself.

‘MJ the Musical’ rewinds to 1992, detailing the tense lead-up to the legendary Dangerous World Tour. Ambition collides with adversity, mounting pressures threatening to derail MJ’s exacting artistic vision. He’s plagued with traumatic flashbacks to his troubled upbringing, and we see the ‘man in the mirror’ as damaged and doubtful, striving for absolute perfection at any cost. Still, a quiet hope lingers. Will it find its voice?

Written by Lynn Nottage, the show has a stylised flair, shifting seamlessly between real-time and flashbacks through a single actor who plays both Jackson’s domineering father and concerned choreographer. The result is a Jekyll and Hyde-esque switch between tenderness and tyranny with an intrusiveness echoing buried trauma. The narrative drive is less strong, sticking to a narrow window in Jackson’s life which sidesteps later controversy. The continued flashbacks start to feel repetitive, despite ending with a slightly more nuanced scene. The dramatic tension goes nowhere: a climactic, nightmarish ‘Thriller’ is followed by a beautiful but narratively underwhelming ‘Man in the Mirror’ (cue megamix). A documentary crew sneaking incriminating footage raises the stakes, only to fizzle out in a rose-tinted dreamscape. The result is a flat emotional arc despite literally being in his head.

Christopher Wheeldon’s direction is sharp, bringing out standout performances across the cast. Scenes are seamlessly integrated with technical elements, the ambitious staging mirroring the scale and spectacle of Jackson’s historic tour. Though the shift to the Hollywood Hills during the final interview, while visually striking, feels a little ungrounded. Wheeldon’s real strength (rightly recognised with an Olivier) is the choreography, moving fluidly through time and space while delivering iconic moves we know and love. It’s sharp, rhythmical and complex, seamlessly blending storytelling into the dance itself.

With music, orchestrations and arrangements by David Holcenberg, Jason Michael Webb and Strange Cranium, the show delivers fantastically rich renditions of Jackson’s pre-1992 classics. The medleys are a particular delight – flashy, fun, and offering welcome reprieve from the confines of the studio. Unusually for a jukebox musical, the songs don’t feel shoehorned in, the rehearsal framework instead offering more freedom. That said, one strength of jukebox musicals is casting familiar songs in new lights, and while ‘Thriller’ is delightfully distorted, most of the other songs remain faithful to their original interpretations.

The technical and design aspects are phenomenal, with scenic design (Derek McLane), lighting (Natasha Katz), sound (Gareth Owen), projection (Peter Nigrini), costume (Paul Tazewell), make up (Joe Dulude II), and wigs and hair (Charles G. LaPointe) uniting in an impressive feat of creativity and execution. The sheer variety is mindboggling, let alone their impeccable delivery. My favourite moment is the ending – no spoilers – which is everything it’s hyped up to be before collapsing in on itself like a black hole. Stunning.

The cast is superb overall, with Jamaal Fields Green and Mitchell Zhangazha absolutely nailing Jackson’s speech, dance and gentleness while delivering flawless vocals. Matt Mills rises to the challenge of the demanding Joseph Jackson/Rob, switching effortlessly between cold and considerate with rich vocals to boot. The ensemble shines in diverse dance styles and heartfelt vocals, though larger numbers lag slightly behind the band. The on- and offstage band is superb, driving the energy throughout.

‘MJ the Musical’ delivers a heartfelt if slightly sanitised glimpse into the mind of a controversial man. It shoots for perfection, landing sheer spectacle, a stellar cast and jaw-dropping technical wizardry. But when it comes to emotional depth, it pulls its punches. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Just don’t expect to learn more about the King of Pop than you already knew.

MJ THE MUSICAL

Prince Edward Theatre

Reviewed on 15th October 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Matthew Murphy

Previously reviewed at this venue:

DEAR ENGLAND | ★★★★★ | October 2023

AIN’T TOO PROUD | ★★★ | April 2023

MJ THE MUSICAL

★★★

“Occasional ripples stir up the action but the whole staging needs a good shake up”

Commissioned as part of the Finborough’s ‘Celebrating British Music Theatre’ series, “The Biograph Girl” is playing on the London stage for the first time since its 1980 premiere. With book and lyrics by Warner Brown and music by David Heneker (the composer of “Half A Sixpence”) it is a celebration of Hollywood’s glorious era of silent film, charting the fifteen years during which the industry transformed itself from its disreputable, ‘fleapit’ beginnings through to the birth of the first talking pictures and its glamorous multi-million dollar prime. In 1912, no self-respecting actor would appear in the “flickers”, as they were referred to, but by 1927, those same artistes, with the help of trail blazing moguls, laid the foundations of the movie business and launched the Hollywood star system.

The show is a nostalgic reminiscence of the silent movies, a tale of the heartbreaks and triumphs of the key players, concentrating on the flawed genius of director David Wark Griffith, along with Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, both of them great silent film stars. Mary Pickford was known as ‘The Biograph Girl’ – after the studio – though this telling of the story fails to justify her having the titular role. This is very much Griffith’s story, played with a cool assurance by Jonathan Leinmuller. Sophie Linder-Lee’s Pickford, while emulating the original character, replaces her outward innocence with petulance which distances her from the audience’s sympathy. Instead Emily Langham quietly pulls focus with her sensitive portrayal of Lillian Gish – the ‘First Lady of American Cinema’.

The intimate space of the Finborough captures the ad hoc feel of early cinema where everything was done on a shoestring and sets were often cramped and improvised, and in this way the piece certainly lends itself to the confined dimensions of the theatre. The almost total lack of set however, whether a deliberate concept or one dictated by budget, strips the play of any sense of location. Likewise, Holly Hughes’ choreography abandons any perception of the period.

What does capture the moments of nostalgia and hold our attention is Warner Brown’s book and David Heneker’s music. The tunes are sophisticated yet still memorable. One particular highlight is Joshua C. Jackson’s heartfelt rendition of ‘Rivers of Blood’, a politically charged number that was cut from the original production. The cast deliver the ensemble numbers with a collective poise that emphasises Heneker’s skills as a composer, while Musical Director Harry Haden-Brown calmly navigates them through the score. Sometimes too calmly.

And there lies the problem with this production: there is no turbulence. Occasional ripples stir up the action but the whole staging needs a good shake up. Director Jenny Eastop has missed a whole bag of tricks and has merely delivered a monochrome product that should be fizzing with flashes of light and shade. It is a gift of a story, and a much more innovative staging is needed to do justice to this hugely talented cast too. The subject matter (and Heneker’s music) is too important. In his heyday, poetic beauty was something David Wark Griffith most wanted from the screen. He felt that the motion picture industry was losing sight of that, declaring later in his life: “We have taken beauty and exchanged it for stilted voices”. Eastop should take note.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Tag Archives: Joshua C. Jackson

MJ THE MUSICAL

★★★

Prince Edward Theatre

MJ THE MUSICAL

Prince Edward Theatre

★★★

“a stellar cast and jaw-dropping technical wizardry”