{"id":117765,"date":"2025-09-22T12:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T16:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=117765"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:36:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T16:36:23","slug":"scrutiny-mirvishs-mj-much-jukebox-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/09\/22\/scrutiny-mirvishs-mj-much-jukebox-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Mirvish\u2019s MJ Is Much More Than A Jukebox Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jordan
Jordan Markus as MJ and the First National Tour Cast of MJ (Photo: Matthew Murphy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David & Hannah Mirvish\/MJ, book by Lynn Nottage, music supervision by David Holcenberg, choreographed and directed by Christopher Wheeldon, CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, until Nov. 2. Tickets here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How successful is MJ the musical? Let me count the ways.<\/p>\n

The show opened on Broadway in 2022, was nominated for 10 Tonys, won four, and is still playing. It opened in London\u2019s West End in 2024, was nominated for three Olivier Awards, won one, and is still playing.<\/p>\n

And if you can believe it, the version that just landed in Toronto is part of a 71-city national tour that has been going strong since 2023.<\/p>\n

To say that MJ is a triumph is an understatement.<\/p>\n

\"Studio
Studio 54 – the First National Tour Cast of MJ (Photo: Matthew Murphy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Jukebox musicals seem to be the name of the game these days. You take an artist\u2019s songbook and build a show around it, either creating a fictional story like Mamma Mia around ABBA, or biographical depictions like Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, with all manner of variations between.<\/p>\n

MJ is of the biographical variety, the subject matter being one of the most iconic and influential artists to ever reign atop the entertainment industry \u2014 namely Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n

The inevitable question becomes, where on earth do you even begin to create a bio show about such a luminary?<\/p>\n

It helps when you have a creative team that is artistic royalty.<\/p>\n

The book writer, Lynn Nottage<\/strong>, has won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama \u2014 Ruined in 2009, and Sweat in 2017.<\/p>\n

As for the show\u2019s director\/choreographer Christopher Weeldon<\/strong>, he is simply one of the ballet world\u2019s beloved darlings. Anyone who follows The National Ballet of Canada knows Wheeldon\u2019s acclaimed full length works, Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter\u2019s Tale (2014).<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say this is overkill for a jukebox musical.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Wheeldon won both the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Choreography.<\/p>\n

Structure<\/h3>\n

Wheeldon refused to do a full cradle to grave biography. Instead he chose a single pivotal moment in Jackson\u2019s life as an anchor, with the musical being structured around the 1992 rehearsals for the Dangerous World Tour.<\/p>\n

This way, Jackson\u2019s creative process is explored in real time and as rehearsals unfold, so do memories and flashbacks.<\/p>\n

The overall premise is that Rachel (Kristin Stokes<\/strong>) and her camera man Alejandro (Kevin Cruz<\/strong>) are making a documentary to capture how Jackson\u2019s ideas transform into reality. Thus, questions can be asked that make MJ reflect on his life story.<\/p>\n

In other words, MJ the musical is a portrait of an artist that focuses on character and craft, and is not just a parade of events.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan
Jordan Markus as MJ and the First National Tour Cast of MJ (Photo: Matthew Murphy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Characters<\/h3>\n

In reality there are three Michaels.<\/p>\n

Little Michael (Bryce A. Holmes<\/strong>) is the child prodigy, the star of The Jackson 5, working in Motown under Berry Gordy (J. Daughtry<\/strong>) and being dominated by his father Joseph (Devin Bowles<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Michael (Brandon Lee Harris<\/strong>) is the rising artist, from his late teens to his mid 20s, going out on his own, from group act to solo superstar, defining his signature and solo identity, and working with Quincy Jones. These are the years that produce Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad.<\/p>\n

MJ (Jordan Markus) is the adult Michael who is the focus of Rachel\u2019s documentary as he creates material for the Dangerous World Tour. He is the icon, the fully formed global entertainer who struggles with fame, pressure, and legacy, but most of all with the drive for perfection.<\/p>\n

It is absolutely uncanny how all three actors resemble the real thing, particularly Markus as MJ \u2014 in speech and carriage and song and dance. The characterizations are quite remarkable.<\/p>\n

Also on board is the Jacksons\u2019 long suffering and bullied mother Katherine (Rajan\u00e9 Katurah) and of course MJ\u2019s brothers, not to mention MJ\u2019s beleagured staff, crew and dancers who have to contend with his endless changes, refinements and even his throwing out rehearsed numbers for new ones as the opening date looms.<\/p>\n

And then there is his accountant Dave (Jed Resnik<\/strong>), who keeps reminding MJ of his over-spending.<\/p>\n

The Choreography<\/h3>\n

The cast of this musical is supremely talented because almost 90% of them are playing more than one character. More to the point from Little Michael on up, they can perform Wheeldon\u2019s own idiomatic take on Jackson\u2019s signature movement vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Credit is given in the program to the original co-choreographers who worked with Jackson to create the look, but what is quite remarkable is how Wheeldon has added more intricacies to every part of the body in motion, and that is saying something if you think about Michael Jackson dancing.<\/p>\n

How can there be more? Nonetheless, the choreography is vintage Michael Jackson but on steroids and speed.<\/p>\n

There is also an interesting insert at the beginning of the second act.<\/p>\n

MJ is asked who his influences have been and he rhymes off Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse, the Nicholas Brothers, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and the Isley Brothers, and at each mention, that artist is portrayed on stage.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m imagining that Wheeldon must have had so much fun choreographing these homages.<\/p>\n

The longest segment is given over to a Fosse number that could have been created by the man himself.<\/p>\n

This section gives the musical real substance.<\/p>\n