After what seemed like a long wait since 2021 for Australian lovers of musical theatre, February 2025 saw MJ The Musical finally hit Australian shores at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, housed in the Star City Casino complex. The show had won 4 prestigious Tony Awards during it’s continuing run on New York’s Broadway and opened to enthusiastic crowds in London’s West End. Due to the success of the New York run, the show was taken on the road in the USA and will be again later in 2025 – extending into Canada too. But for Australian fans I can exclusively reveal that next week will see an official announcement that MJ The Musical will be coming to Melbourne later this year.
My source – who wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons – has told me that logistics for the cast and crew are being looked into, and that a theatre for the run has already been chosen. Though he could neither confirm nor deny, I believe it to be Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne as there is a nice gap in the calendar that could be filled by an award-winning musical that is already in Australia.
By a little bit of luck, I ended up being able to go and see the show twice in the space of a few days last week here in Sydney – a colleague had won discounted tickets and had seen the show already, and wasn’t able to attend. She graciously offered them to us and my wife decided – as it was my birthday – to buy them for us. She then dutifully checked her emails to find she had also won discounted tickets for another show that week! “Do you want to go twice?!” she asked, knowing full well it wasn’t a question that needed an answer!
The first show was on a Tuesday night. We couldn’t believe our luck to find we were in the stalls – second row, towards the left hand side of the stage as we looked at it. The second show – Sunday lunchtime – we were in the dress circle, and honestly I can’t really tell you which one I preferred! I loved both seats for different reasons. I had never been so close to the front of a musical or any other show, save for once seeing The Darkness at The Enmore and a second row table seeing Kevin Bloody Wilson. Slightly different vibe there!
So what of the show itself? After all the hype, the awards, the reviews on shows like The MJCast, the controversy around the content from fans, the issues some members of the fan community have with the Michael Jackson Estate – primarily those that run it and what they produce – how can I give this show a succinct summary? The truth is, I can’t. I quickly realised within a few minutes of the start that I was going to have to look at this show from two viewpoints; that of an almost lifelong Michael Jackson fan who is now part of a team creating The MJCast and counts a member of the Jackson family as a friend, and that of a regular member of the public going to watch a musical.
As an MJ fan, there were issues. We have discussed on The MJCast the problems with some comments the show’s writer Lynn Nottage had made about Michael Jackson’s character (please do have a listen to those shows), but I will keep my review here based purely on what I saw in the show. The plot of the show is based around preparations in 1992 for the upcoming Dangerous World Tour, and Michael’s desire to create a dynamic and unique spectacle for his fans – complete with Toaster and rocket pack. Spoiler – we don’t see the rocket pack during the musical, and unlike the real Dangerous World Tour we don’t see “Michael” exit the show by flying said rocket pack over the crowd. Would have been difficult to pull that off in an enclosed theatre!
The issues that are apparent to fans won’t necessarily be as obvious or even noticeable to non-fans. For example, using songs such as Earth Song, 2 Bad, They Don’t Care About Us, Money, Stranger In Moscow, Tabloid Junkie – all not released until 1995’s HIStory album – in a story set in 1992 was interesting. Likewise, using the childhood Michael to sing songs that Michael released as an adult (Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough) was also a use of artistic licence.
Those are minor details in comparison to factual inaccuracies such as the depiction of Michael Jackson’s drug dependency to get through the stress of rehearsals, when in reality the use and addiction didn’t come into play until well into 1993 and the Chandler allegations. Incidentally, these were alluded to with a simple line by one of the support staff in rehearsals when protesting Michael’s lavish ideas; “And who is this family he wants to bring on the tour?” though that could easily be referring to the Cascio’s who DID go on parts of the tour.
There were also suggestions in the show that Michael Jackson had to mortgage Neverland Ranch (with purported monthly running costs of $2million according to the show) in order pay for the extra staff, toaster and Rocket Pack, speakers and screens for the show. In 1992, Michael had only lived there for 4 years, had not yet built the train station or movie theatre, and had no money issues that would require him to re-mortgage Neverland to pay for any of this. Fans had issues with these aspects of the storyline as it painted Michael as in a state of desperation to achieve rather than a man at the top of his game just before the proverbial hit the fan in his personal life.
My friend and award-winning journalist Charles Thomson said on The MJCast during his review that at times the actor playing family patriarch Joseph Jackson also played Michael’s Tour Manager named “Rob” which was confusing. My wife commented that exact same thing because the very talented Derrick Davis switched between these characters, sometimes without leaving the stage and sometimes going directly from the dialogue of one into the dialogue of the other. This wasn’t exclusive to Joseph/Rob – many actors played multiple characters; Tito Jackson and Quincy Jones are played by Conlon Bonner, while Wonza Johnson plays Berry Gordy and “Nick”.
All that aside, MJ fans will enjoy the music and the passion that the cast bring to performing it on stage. The opening number is Beat It and Debbie Yap joins Michael on stage for an incredible live guitar solo – the closest I’ve ever heard to Eddie Van Halen’s original solo on the record. Liam Damons plays teenage/young adult Michael with energy and aplomb, nailing the dance moves and playing to the crowd. Josslynn Hlenti Afoa plays Katherine Jackson with compassion and sympathy, and unleashes a fantastic gospel choir voice at times in the show, being young Michael’s protector from Derrick Davis’s depiction of Joseph Jackson as a tyrannical father figure – abusively controlling over his family.
While I’m on Joseph – early reviews suggested that the portrayal of Joseph as an evil man was over the top. Davis had a permanent scowl on his face while playing Joseph Jackson, and the scowl disappeared for “Rob” which was one way to discern which character was being played. I don’t know if the character has been toned down or not in the meantime, but aside from one moment in the show where Joseph struck childhood Michael (William Bonner) to the floor with a backhanded slap, to me it looked more like Joseph was depicted as a strict father with mostly stern words for his sons and threats/warnings to keep them in line, and disciplining them to be the best. Derrick Davis plays a difficult role very well, and remains likeable as Rob, if not so likeable as Joseph – resembling Mufasa in The Lion King, who Davis also played.
Roman Banks is outstanding as Michael Jackson. The moves are accurate, the inflections on the speech are great and the charisma is oozing out of him. From the stalls you know you are watching someone play Michael Jackson – from the dress circle, you sometimes think you are watching THE Michael Jackson. Apart from the obvious fact the the man has been gone for nearly 16 years, the only other thing that gave it away is that sometimes the speech was too whispery. The real man didn’t always use that breathy tone when he spoke, but let that take nothing away. Roman’s body language in all aspects of the show were the closest resemblance to the man I’ve seen in any show.
And that is a fairly detailed look at things as a Michael Jackson fan. The criticism from some of the media about the show is that it doesn’t address the demons in Michael Jackson’s later life – the allegations of criminal conduct. But it isn’t meant to. It is meant to be a piece of entertainment showcasing the musical talent and dancing ability of the greatest entertainer of all time. It is not meant to be a biography, and that is why artistic licence is taken. That is why 1995 songs appear in a musical set in 1992. That is why allegations in 1993, 2003 and a trial in 2005 aren’t mentioned. It is a story written by Lynn Nottage loosely based on a real person and parts of their very colourful life.
There are moments of comedy in there too. “If I don’t do these things, God will give my ideas to Prince.” Something Michael actually said in his life, but woven into a script to get a laugh. Firing a water pistol at his handlers to defuse tension, disguising himself and asking “Who’s Michael Jackson?” before revealing himself. In many ways the musical is a sympathetic telling of some of Michael’s personal struggles with people’s lies about him. In others, it completely destroys his character by suggesting he was a pill-popping nutcase that refused to take no for an answer. Neither of which is true to life, neither of which is meant to be.
And so how would I review the show as a regular member of the public going to see a musical? Well, I don’t pretend to be a connoisseur of musical theatre. I’ve seen We Will Rock You and Jersey Boys in London, Thriller Live and The Lion King in Sydney. MJ The Musical beats them all by far. As a piece of entertainment, complete with fantastic music woven into a story and performed with energy and passion I’ve never seen a musical like it. The only show I can compare it to is MJ One in Las Vegas which while also a project of the troublesome MJ Estate, was an outstanding world class spectacle itself.
The choreography is fantastic and keeps you engaged and amazed. While it is inspired by the original choreography of Michael Jackson’s songs there are subtle differences. The only song which is truly left to the real choreography is the one Michael Jackson performed on his own with no backing dancers – the iconic Billie Jean, complete with a silky moonwalk.
In conclusion, for the Michael Jackson fan this is a must see show – providing you are prepared to understand it is a fictional story based on the myth, not a biography of the man. You will notice the inaccuracies and they will frustrate you, but remove yourself from that and you will have a wonderful time enjoying the show. If you are a member of the public wishing to see an entertaining show with brilliant music, choreography and charisma you will quickly understand why MJ The Musical has won so many awards and is still running in New York and London. And until August, right here in Sydney.
Australian fans, get your tickets and watch out for a fan gathering on 25th June – the 16th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s passing. As far as Sydney is concerned the show has a hard stop in August as Back To The Future moves into the Lyric Theatre in September. Demand has been plentiful – certainly enough to warrant extending the original May end date out to August instead. As things stand the final show will be 23rd August. You can’t help but feel that 29th August would have been an appropriate end date that would have had more fanfare. Why? Michael Jackson was born on 29th August 1958.
Meanwhile, I’m checking my calendar for later in the year when I can book a trip to Melbourne to visit family. And quite possibly Her Majesty’s Theatre for another viewing of this spectacular show. Remember, you heard it here first!
Article by Charlie Carter.
