{"id":2428855,"date":"2026-05-23T01:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T01:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2428855"},"modified":"2026-05-23T01:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T01:05:53","slug":"energy-and-nostalgia-fuel-mj-the-musical-at-the-fabulous-fox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/energy-and-nostalgia-fuel-mj-the-musical-at-the-fabulous-fox\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy and nostalgia fuel \u2018MJ the Musical\u2019 at The Fabulous Fox"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fact that Michael Jackson was unmatched as an entertainer becomes even more apparent when watching performers attempt to capture his talent, skill and energy. Only one person to date \u2014 Jaafar Jackson in Antoine Fuqua\u2019s biopic <em>Michael<\/em> \u2014 has truly come close. And he shares 25 percent of the late superstar\u2019s DNA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jaafar\u2019s portrayal of his uncle during the eras between <em>Off the Wall<\/em> and the beginning of <em>Bad<\/em> set a bar so high that no one else can realistically reach it. Because Jackson was such a master, audiences extend a certain grace to anyone who steps into the role. They understand the extreme difficulty \u2014 and the nerve \u2014 required to attempt it live onstage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That reality hangs over <em>MJ the Musical<\/em>, which returned to the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday evening amid a fresh wave of \u201cMichael-mania\u201d sparked by the release of Fuqua\u2019s blockbuster film. The production runs through May 24, and even casual fans \u2014 if such a thing exists \u2014 will appreciate the show\u2019s production value, storyline and music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>MJ the Musical<\/em> premiered on Broadway in 2022, built around Jackson\u2019s 1992 <em>Dangerous<\/em> World Tour rehearsals. With a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and direction\/choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon, the show was designed not as a cradle-to-grave biopic but as a jukebox-style exploration of Jackson\u2019s artistry, work ethic and creative process. It went on to win four Tony Awards, including Best Actor for Myles Frost.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The touring production brings that same framework to St. Louis \u2014 a non-linear narrative that uses Jackson\u2019s catalog as a guide through his childhood, rise to superstardom and the pressures that shaped him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption><span class=\"image-credit\"><span class=\"credit-label-wrapper\">Credit:<\/span> Photo courtesy of The Fabulous Fox<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordan Markus had some tough loafers to fill in his debut touring performance as Michael Jackson. This is true in both as the musical\u2019s namesake and as the successor to Roman Banks, whose 2024 Fox Theatre performance was widely praised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Markus delivers a solid showing, particularly in his dancing. And between the three performers who portray Jackson at different stages of his life, audiences get the full spectrum of what the late entertainer brought to the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The show opens as Jackson prepares to embark on the European leg of the <em>Dangerous<\/em> tour. Through flashbacks, the audience is carried from his origins as a pint-sized prodigy leading the Jackson 5 to the height of his solo career. The jukebox format allows fans to sing, sway and relive the soundtrack of a generation.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much like the child he portrays, Eric Wiltz has an intuitiveness with his instrument that is awe-inspiring. His use of harmony \u2014 especially during his duet with Rajane Katurah as Katherine Jackson \u2014 is one of the production\u2019s most striking moments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brandon Lee Harris, who plays Jackson in his <em>Off the Wall<\/em> era, has the vocals down pat. Onstage, he serves as a reminder of the global star\u2019s pure singing ability \u2014 something often overshadowed by the spectacle of Jackson\u2019s performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Markus has the moves. His physicality anchors the show\u2019s later eras, capturing the precision and musicality that defined Jackson\u2019s choreography.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two-and-a-half-hour playlist of Jackson\u2019s timeless hits is framed by Nottage\u2019s non-linear script. <em>MJ the Musical<\/em> manages to squeeze in more than 40 songs without making the show feel cumbersome \u2014 or forcing fans to endure a fragmented story just to accommodate the music.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The curation and Nottage\u2019s storytelling create an even-keeled production that doesn\u2019t feel thrown together simply to make room for the singing and dancing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much like the film, <em>MJ the Musical<\/em> is a fan pleaser. The audience responded with such enthusiasm that applause routinely forced the cast to pause between numbers. And the standing ovation lasted nearly as long as the show\u2019s finale medley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MJ the Musical <em>continues through May 24 at the Fabulous Fox. For tickets and additional information, visit fabulousfox.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.stlamerican.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fact that Michael Jackson was unmatched as an entertainer becomes even more apparent when watching performers attempt to capture his talent, skill and energy. Only one person to date \u2014 Jaafar Jackson in Antoine Fuqua\u2019s biopic Michael \u2014 has truly come close. And he shares 25 percent of the late superstar\u2019s DNA. Jaafar\u2019s portrayal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2428856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2428855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Energy-and-nostalgia-fuel-\u2018MJ-the-Musical-at-The-Fabulous.-Ph.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2428855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2428857,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428855\/revisions\/2428857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2428856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2428855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2428855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2428855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}