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The Michael Jackson Musical: 'MJ'

promotion

wednesday said:
In my opinion it's just milking Michael. The artist himself is gone, and with him is any interest I have in projects that he is not involved in/ has no say in. That said, if peeps get to know his music through Broadway, good for them, I guess. I couldn't care for the Las Vegas show, so I'll see with this Broadway production.
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You could say this about anybody who is deceased and is still marketed today:
Jimi Hendrix
Marilyn Monroe
John Lennon / George Harrison / The Beatles as a group, who hasn't existed since 1970
Bob Marley
3 Stooges
Shakespeare
Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.
Mark Twain
Albert Einstein
Elvis Presley

It's not like Jimmy Stewart has anything to do with It's A Wonderful Life being shown on TV every December. :rofl: If they didn't continue to be promoted, they would likely have been forgotten by now especially the ones from the 1800s and before.
 
Michael Jackson Musical Officially in Development

According to a new casting notice, the previously announced musical based on the life and career of pop icon Michael Jackson is gearing up for a New York City lab next month.

According to a recent casting notice, the lab will be presented under the title Westlake (also the name of the recording studio where Jackson recorded his most legendary hits) and will take place from September 24 - October 21, 2018.

The production is currently seeking Equity actors to fill several roles.

See casting details below: See in the link
https://www.broadwayworld.com/artic...-WESTLAKE-to-Have-NYC-Lab-Next-Month-20180816

The new musical will feature a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize® winner Lynn Nottageand a score made up of some of the best-loved, top-selling songs in recording history. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph. The musical is expected to arrive on Broadway in 2020.

Dubbed the "King of Pop", Jackson was one of the most popular entertainers in the world, and was the best-selling music artist during the year of his death. Jackson's contributions to music, dance, and fashion along with his publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. His music videos, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jackson's 1987 album Bad spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana", becoming the first album to have five number-one singles in the nation. He continued to innovate with videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist.

Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres.

www.broadwayworld.com/article/Michael-Jackson-Musical-WESTLAKE-to-Have-NYC-Lab-Next-Month-20180816
 
What to Expect From the Broadway-Bound Michael Jackson Musical

90

http://www.playbill.com/article/what-to-expect-from-the-broadway-bound-michael-jackson-musical

By Ruthie Fierberg
Sep 16, 2018

Director-choreographer Christopher Wheeldon shares preliminary details of the production.

It’s early yet to determine exactly what the Michael Jackson musical will look like when it hits Broadway (projected to bow in 2020), even for director-choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. “We’ve done one 29-hour reading, so we’re still working on the book,” he says of working with book writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.

As previously announced the musical is a collaboration between The Michael Jackson Estate and Columbia Live Stage. Wheeldon is about to begin a dance lab for the show, which leads into “a four-week overall lab” as the duo develops the work.

But one thing he is clear on is that this is not a sweeping bio-musical of the King of Pop’s entire life. “The show is very much anchored in one particular moment in time,” Wheeldon tells Playbill. “I always bring up the fabulous movie that Spielberg made about Lincoln: You take one key moment, I suppose, in the history of someone’s life and then sort of use that as an anchor point for past storytelling and, perhaps, some kind of prophecy of what’s to come. We’ll be doing that with this story.”

Aside from the script, Wheeldon has another daunting task ahead of him: choreographing the man who popularized the moonwalk.

The Tony winner for Best Choreography for his An American in Paris likens this project to that Broadway adaptation. “In the same way fans of the American in Paris movie would have wanted and, I hope, felt that they came away with a real sense of the style of that period and of [choreographer and star] Gene Kelly and of [star] Leslie Caron, that might kind of be the route we go with Michael,” Wheeldon reveals. “I also intend to put quite a lot of Michael’s work in the show, as well.”
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

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Email from the Estate of Michael Jackson (this image in NYC is advertising for the upcoming Broadway show based on Michael's life).
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljackson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MichaelJackson</a> has arrived on Broadway . . . . <a href="https://t.co/Sa4u4QWYlG">pic.twitter.com/Sa4u4QWYlG</a></p>&mdash; Joshua Lebowitz (@joshualebowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshualebowitz/status/1086305435374755840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">18. Januar 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MJ Fam : dontstoponbway is LIVE &#10084;&#65039;&#10084;&#65039;&#10084;&#65039;&#128131;&#127998;&#128131;&#127998; <a href="https://t.co/Z0fV13yToi">https://t.co/Z0fV13yToi</a> <a href="https://t.co/33eeFAOGwt">https://t.co/33eeFAOGwt</a></p>&mdash; MJJJusticeProject (@MJJJusticePrjct) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJJJusticePrjct/status/1087776991145795586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">22. Januar 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

What is the name of the show?
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

They are using the same image as for the OPUS book:

mj-cover-hero.jpg
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

cant wait for this hope it comes to australia
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

Wow, I can't think of a worse time to be promoting a MJ broadway show.
EVERY time the press mention it, if they mention it at all, they'll also be promoting the new documentary.

Why give the documentary more promotion?

How many times have we seen people post "he made great music BUT..." or "he was a great entertainer BUT...."?

The MJ Estate want to focus people on his music, BUT people already know he was good. That won't stop them thinking he was criminal because of the allegations and boycotting his products, including the broadway show,and posting negative comments online. To help MJ, and therefore THEMSELVES, the MJ Estate need to focus on discrediting the allegations.

The news of a broadway show does nothing to counteract or disprove the allegations in any way.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

that is a good point and i totally agree the esate need to focus on the truth
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

Cant do right for wrong. This has been in the planning for s long time. Its not like they suddenly created it to counter act any bad publicity from the doc. Talk about reaching.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

I'm so tired of the 'toes' pic. They overuse it so much, at least this time it's done in a different style.

The King of Pop and This is It concerts had a great art direction.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

elusive moonwalker said:
Cant do right for wrong. This has been in the planning for s long time. Its not like they suddenly created it to counter act any bad publicity from the doc. Talk about reaching.
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This. Im looking forward to the details, even if I'm on the other side of the world!
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

elusive moonwalker said:
Cant do right for wrong. This has been in the planning for a long time. Its not like they suddenly created it to counter act any bad publicity from the doc. Talk about reaching.
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I'm not saying the show is a bad thing, far from it.
BUT I don't see any reason to promote it right now in the same week as the documentary. The show is not planning to open until 2020 and they're not yet selling tickets. What possible value or return is there in putting up a poster now? From a promotional point of view I see no value at all, even without the documentary being aired this week. There is plenty of time for promotion.

The focus right now should be on damage limitation and a billboard in NYC is not helpful in any way IMHO.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

What do you guys think it will be called?

Man in the Mirror ?

Will You Be There ?

BAD ?

Thriller ? - hope not...

If it only/mainly focused on the first part of his like it could have been Childhood - but I doubt that since I guess it will be about his adult life as a star.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

Hess said:
What do you guys think it will be called?

Man in the Mirror ?

Will You Be There ?

BAD ?

Thriller ? - hope not...

If it only/mainly focused on the first part of his like it could have been Childhood - but I doubt that since I guess it will be about his adult life as a star.
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Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="de"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I am so excited to see MJ's name lighting up broadway!!!! I will definitely be flying to NYC to see it!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/dontstoponbway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dontstoponbway</a>. Having MJ ONE on the West Coast and now this on the East Coast...The power of the King of Pop's music lives on!&#10084;&#65039; <a href="https://t.co/IWfpTtKoVj">pic.twitter.com/IWfpTtKoVj</a></p>&mdash; Pez Jax (@Pezjax) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pezjax/status/1088087278713491456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">23. Januar 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

I wonder what it'll be like. At least it is something different instead of just random people dancing to his music.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

MJTruth said:
BUT I don't see any reason to promote it right now in the same week as the documentary. The show is not planning to open until 2020 and they're not yet selling tickets. What possible value or return is there in putting up a poster now? From a promotional point of view I see no value at all, even without the documentary being aired this week. There is plenty of time for promotion.

The focus right now should be on damage limitation and a billboard in NYC is not helpful in any way IMHO.
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Pulling attention away from the documentary is the right thing to do.

Surprisingly, there's a fair amount of people who have no idea Leaving Neverland is a thing; I have a few close friends who are casual fans who only found out about it a few days ago. It's not something that's taking the world by storm or being addressed by every single fan and/or hater. So if the Estate goes on some Damien Shields level rant and posts about it three to five times a day, they'll be raising awareness and increasing the likelihood of higher ratings on HBO and Channel 4.

So what's their move? To talk about the upcoming Broadway show and attempt to return Michael's art to the narrative.

Don't get me wrong, I know people want them to be vocal about Leaving Neverland and/or Taj's counter documentary. But since neither HBO or Channel 4 will back down, and since they have a fan base of tens of millions of people on social media, consistent posts and comments about it will be detrimental, not helpful.

This is what I'm talking about whenever I say that the Estate just can't win in the eyes of the fans. Even when they do something respectable, such as joining the #StopLeavingNeverlandNOW campaign or putting together a Broadway show, people still find a way to complain. I guarantee there'll be complaints if they donate to Taj's documentary because they didn't donate enough. It's ridiculous.
 
http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/show/dont-stop-til-you-get-enough/

DON’T STOP ’TIL YOU GET ENOUGH is the new musical that celebrates the artistry of Michael Jackson, featuring a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined) and directed and choreographed by Tony Award® winner Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris).
The show takes audiences behind the scenes as Michael prepares for the 1992 Dangerous Tour, providing an in-depth look at his process. As Michael and his collaborators rehearse their epic setlist, we are transported to pivotal creative moments from his career.
Featuring over 25 of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits, DON’T STOP ’TIL YOU GET ENOUGH combines the singular talent of a cultural icon with the powerful storytelling of contemporary theatre.
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Very interesting choice of subject! Sounds like a lot of fun, and the DWT setlist was dynamic enough to have plenty of flashbacks to a lot of awesome creative moments. Too bad History won’t be there, though.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

AlwaysThere said:
Pulling attention away from the documentary is the right thing to do.

Surprisingly, there's a fair amount of people who have no idea Leaving Neverland is a thing; I have a few close friends who are casual fans who only found out about it a few days ago. It's not something that's taking the world by storm or being addressed by every single fan and/or hater. So if the Estate goes on some Damien Shields level rant and posts about it three to five times a day, they'll be raising awareness and increasing the likelihood of higher ratings on HBO and Channel 4.

So what's their move? To talk about the upcoming Broadway show and attempt to return Michael's art to the narrative.

Don't get me wrong, I know people want them to be vocal about Leaving Neverland and/or Taj's counter documentary. But since neither HBO or Channel 4 will back down, and since they have a fan base of tens of millions of people on social media, consistent posts and comments about it will be detrimental, not helpful.

This is what I'm talking about whenever I say that the Estate just can't win in the eyes of the fans. Even when they do something respectable, such as joining the #StopLeavingNeverlandNOW campaign or putting together a Broadway show, people still find a way to complain. I guarantee there'll be complaints if they donate to Taj's documentary because they didn't donate enough. It's ridiculous.
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Completley agree.

No point in the Estate drawing more attention to this doc.
 
rpvee;4237704 said:
Too bad History won&#8217;t be there, though.
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This is what I think of!
Which means gems like
Earth Song, Stranger In Moscow, Ghosts, TDCAU, BOTDF
won't make it?
I don't feel Michael IS Michael Jackson without those...
However, they'll say - "Go and buy ONE in Las Vegas then".
And what about Motown hits?
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

i hope it comes to australia
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

madmijack said:
This is what I think of!
Which means gems like
Earth Song, Stranger In Moscow, Ghosts, TDCAU, BOTDF
won't make it?
I don't feel Michael IS Michael Jackson without those...
However, they'll say - "Go and buy ONE in Las Vegas then".
And what about Motown hits?
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Motown Medley!

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
Might be a good idea to focus on the time before 1993. - they can make a part 2 with focus on the time after the 1993 allegations and HIStory etc.

But I do not really want them to make anything that focuses on the allegations or that CR#¤ !
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

This actually sounds really, really interesting. Much more interesting than the Cirque mess.

I wonder how they'll tell it without a cheesy impersonator.
 
Re: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson is heading to Broadway!

dam2040 said:
This actually sounds really, really interesting. Much more interesting than the Cirque mess.

I wonder how they'll tell it without a cheesy impersonator.
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It's odd.

What is it about the Dangerous tour rehearsals they find interesting? What do they think the general audience would find interesting?
Sure, This Is It did well in cinemas but that was in the wake of MJ's death and morbid curiosity took over.

I can see why many people may be interested in the actual videos of Dangerous tour rehearsal at Neverland if they find them online, but to watch a cast pretend to rehearse? Strange.

This was not a "comeback" tour.
It was by no means his first world tour.
It has nothing to do with the major success of his biggest albums, Thriller and BAD - they would be the obvious subjects to cover, so I'm actually I'm glad they're moving away from those.
There was no new album to release. It was already out.
There were no allegations at that point, and I guess the MJ Estate will avoid them at all costs anyway.

I know I must be missing something here so I'll keep an open mind, but what events could be of interest?? WHAT is the hook they'll use to sell the idea to audiences??? On the face of it, the Dangerous Tour is not an obvious selling point.

also, if they're only going to tackle rehearsals, does that mean they're going to keep starting and stopping performances, with faltering vocals and choreography? As would happen in real rehearsals? Smoothly running faultlessly from one complete song to another wouldn't be very realistic.
 
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