You’ve just “Got to Be There.”
That’s what producers of the critically acclaimed Broadway musical “MJ” are hoping fans of Michael Jackson will be feeling in their hearts when the show arrives in Chicago next year. “MJ” is set to play the James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph) July 15-Sept. 10, 2023, the show’s first stop from Broadway. There are currently 17 dates scheduled for the two-year national tour. The cast will be announced at a later date.
Set in 1992 just two days before Jackson set out on his Dangerous world tour, the jukebox musical —directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon (the Joffrey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”) with a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (“Ruined,” “Sweat”)—celebrates Jackson’s music with more than three dozen tunes that would come to define the “King of Pop.”
The show, which currently stars Myles Frost at Jackson, boasts sets by Tony and two-time Emmy Award winner Derek McLane, lighting design by six-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, costumes by Tony and Emmy Award winner Paul Tazewell, sound design by Gareth Owen, projection design by Peter Nigrini, and hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe.
The musical opened in February on Broadway following several delayed stops and starts last year due to the pandemic shutdown of all theaters and later COVID-19 breakthrough cases within in the company. It was originally slated for its pre-Broadway run in Chicago in 2019, but was canceledfollowing the controversy and fallout over the release of the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland.”
The show is being produced by Lia Vollack Productions, the Michael Jackson Estate and Broadway in Chicago (BIC).
Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago group sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.
