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The Michael Jackson Musical: 'MJ'

Blues_Away2023 said:
Tonight's west end performance was cancelled due to ill heath of the cast 😬
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:(

Blues_Away2023 said:
Not the biggest theatre fan but does this type of stuff happen often?
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Not typically, afaik. I don't go to the theatre much these days and never did go to West End musicals but it does seem odd. I do know the original Broadway run had a moment where one or two (more?) shows got cancelled. Can't remember if it was Covid or just winter flu but a large number of the cast had got sick, too many for them to shoo in understudies. But we're well past the winter flu season so I don't know what this could mean.

Blues_Away2023 said:
I can understand the star being missing so the understudy has to perform but the entire company?
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Can't recall ever hearing about something like that happening.

This just got posted an hour ago. I wonder if it's all back to normal now. 🤔

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775553856581341224
 
zinniabooklover said:
:(


Not typically, afaik. I don't go to the theatre much these days and never did go to West End musicals but it does seem odd. I do know the original Broadway run had a moment where one or two (more?) shows got cancelled. Can't remember if it was Covid or just winter flu but a large number of the cast had got sick, too many for them to shoo in understudies. But we're well past the winter flu season so I don't know what this could mean.


Can't recall ever hearing about something like that happening.

This just got posted an hour ago. I wonder if it's all back to normal now. 🤔

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775553856581341224
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Cancelled again tonight 😯
 
So I saw this show last Friday and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I enjoyed it way more than I expected it to. The performances are all spectacular and the soundtrack is soooo much better within the context of the show. Myles is honest to god sensational as MJ.

It has some cringey parts and dialogue as you would expect, but I think that the overall spirit of MJ and the Dangerous project are really captured well here. Some parts didn't quite work for me, but all in all this was a really enjoyable experience. I think it was definietly written or pieced together with 2019 in the back of the mind, but I guess it had to be. If anyone was honestly going into this expecting the allegations to be addressed or included as part of the story, then their review was never going to be a review of the Musical itself.

Band were fantastic, great new choreography and a genuinely touching story. I think there are many messages to take home, I know i did.

Personal highlight was Earth Song/TDCAU but nice to hear some surprises that didnt make the album.

If you are in London I'd recommend seeing this so much.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Cancelled again tonight 😯
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Maybe they all got COVID? From my limited knowledge of musical theater there's usually an understudy that can fill in if the main actor gets sick. Not sure if that applies to every character in a show or not though. But if the whole show got cancelled... maybe they don't have understudies for this? Unless there is and they also happen to be sick... which would be bizarre.
innuendo141 said:
So I saw this show last Friday and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I enjoyed it way more than I expected it to. The performances are all spectacular and the soundtrack is soooo much better within the context of the show. Myles is honest to god sensational as MJ.

It has some cringey parts and dialogue as you would expect, but I think that the overall spirit of MJ and the Dangerous project are really captured well here. Some parts didn't quite work for me, but all in all this was a really enjoyable experience. I think it was definietly written or pieced together with 2019 in the back of the mind, but I guess it had to be. If anyone was honestly going into this expecting the allegations to be addressed or included as part of the story, then their review was never going to be a review of the Musical itself.

Band were fantastic, great new choreography and a genuinely touching story. I think there are many messages to take home, I know i did.

Personal highlight was Earth Song/TDCAU but nice to hear some surprises that didnt make the album.

If you are in London I'd recommend seeing this so much.
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Glad you enjoyed it!
 
Amaya said:
Maybe they all got COVID? From my limited knowledge of musical theater there's usually an understudy that can fill in if the main actor gets sick. Not sure if that applies to every character in a show or not though. But if the whole show got cancelled... maybe they don't have understudies for this? Unless there is and they also happen to be sick... which would be bizarre.

Glad you enjoyed it!
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I saw a post earlier in the week praising the lead actor who WASN'T Miles so this is very likely. The posts are on Instagram, apparently the understudy was brilliant also.
 
Usually the understudy is somebody else in the cast.

I can't say who it might be for this, but as an example from Grease, the Danny understudy might be Kenickie, the Kenickie understudy might be Doody, etc.
 
I saw the musical on Thursday evening this week here in London. It was really excellent, the songs hit really hard right from the opening with Beat It. I got the best experience I'll ever have to seeing MJ music performed as major productions with a really talented performer (Myles Frost). Even his speaking parts as Michael were really well done. This is more or less a one man show by its very nature, so all three Michaels were doing all the heavy lifting.

Specifics I loved:

  • Having Thriller start with the artistic choice to have little Michael sing about Joseph being the creature lurking in the dark was fantastic, and overall that sequence was among the best. They incorporated the Thriller dance/music video part earlier in the show to allow them do something new with the choreography at the end which was fantastic and fresh.
  • The major sequences right at the end of the first act which show MJ reach his ultimate peak with Thriller and the Grammys in 1984, and the press conference of They Don't Really Care About Us was so well put together were so tight and well executed. Myles' breath control to keep hitting the higher notes during those segments was amazing.
  • My favourite sequence was probably Billie Jean into Smooth Criminal at the start of the second act. Having his influences come on stage and seeing how he incorporates pieces of their moves into his own routines was jaw dropping.
  • I liked that they touched on his personal struggles just enough, and the strategic placing of the show in 1992 avoided them having to make a major plot point about the allegations that would follow (there's one or two small references to it but mostly about rumours in the press). I know to some critics this is considered a cop-out but I disagree - a show celebrating MJ's music and his almost manic ambitions to maintain Thriller/Bad success with Dangerous surely doesn't need to drench itself in a scandal that occurred after that period and which Michael would fight and win over a decade later
  • There's major omissions in terms of MJ's catalogue, which for time reasons obviously they couldn't include. They mention Rock With You and have elements of both Another Part of Me and The Way You Make Me Feel, but they don't get performed. Considering it is set during the Dangerous era, I was most surprised Remember The Time didn't make the cut. Unsurprisingly, tons of songs from HIStory make it, all of which are so autobiographical it's like a roadmap for someone to make a show like this (Having For The Love of Money shift into MJ's Money was so cool).

That being said, I got the same feeling of sadness I got from the two Cirque shows when I saw those. These are such talented dancers and singers, they literally spend days and weeks rehearsing and perfecting Michael's moves and vocals, and yet they all are just a beat away from how crisp and clean Michael was during his prime. I had tickets to what became the second This Is It show and I'm too young to have been able to see the HIStory World Tour, so I think I'll just have to accept any of these productions will be both exciting and bittersweet.
 
MJ musical in London :)

GKyo4pDXgAE2qLs
 
Thatkliqkid said:
Went down to London today for the matinée. Unfortunately cancelled again!
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Same.

I've travelled all the way from Scotland today; specifically to see the show. I've exchanged to tonights performance in the hope that ot'll go ahead. According to staff at the theatre they're in rehearsals right now with the 3rd understudy (apparently both myles and the other understudy are ill) to determine if he's strong enough to carry the show.

They're aiming to confirm a decision around 6pm. I've got a flight home booked for 9pm so if it doesn't go ahead, I should still be able to make it home. If it does, I'll need to pay a small fortune to either stay in London or get a night bus back at my own expense.

I know things happen but MJs reach is so far and wide that people are paying small fortunes to travel. It's not a good look that this is the 3rd show to be cancelled in a week!!
 
Yeah that's very poor, you feel for the fans paying such high ticket prices and booking accommodation, transport etc only to be left disappointed.

It's not a good start considering it's only officially been open a week and a half? It's extremely bad luck the main MJ actors are all ill.
 
SeeingVoices said:
Oh well..

Tonight is cancelled also.

Hundreds of pounds wasted for nothing!
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Really sorry to hear this, that's such a disappointment especially after travelling down from Scotland specifically for it.

I'd be gutted too 😢 Hopefully you will be able to book another trip in the near future.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Really sorry to hear this, that's such a disappointment especially after travelling down from Scotland specifically for it.

I'd be gutted too 😢 Hopefully you will be able to book another trip in the near future.
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I feel so disappointed, deflated, irritated and angry.

I'm more annoyed by the fact they allowed me (and other patrons) to transfer to tonight's performance knowing for almost certain that it was never going to happen. I feel so stupid for being so gullible.

If there is an recurring illness in the cast then they need to cancel indefinitely until it's resolved. These constant last min cancellations isn't filling sending the right message.
 
Quite a few disgruntled people in the comments section on the official musical Facebook page and rightly so.

One particular person reckons the show will be pulled soon due to financial difficulties. I don't believe that for a second but it's defo gonna lose some money with all these cancellations.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Quite a few disgruntled people in the comments section on the official musical Facebook page and rightly so.

One particular person reckons the show will be pulled soon due to financial difficulties. I don't believe that for a second but it's defo gonna lose some money with all these cancellations.
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That's why theatres always cancel very late in the day. It's crap for the patrons but they are desperately trying not to cancel bc of the money they'll lose.

Thing is, the show is 2.5 hours long, I believe. It's a dance show not a play so it's much harder on the performers. Are they running 8 shows per week? That means the lead performers are doing 6 shows every week. I can't remember how long Myles was in the US show before he left but I assume he went straight into rehearsals for the UK show. Musical theatre performers are really good at keeping themselves fit and strong but 6 shows every week for months on end will put lots of stress on the body. So that could explain Myles. As for the other cast members being ill, just sounds like really bad luck to me.

It's easy for me to say. I'm not the one who's out of pocket and disappointed. But I can see it from their pov as well.
 
Blues_Away2023 said:
Quite a few disgruntled people in the comments section on the official musical Facebook page and rightly so.

One particular person reckons the show will be pulled soon due to financial difficulties. I don't believe that for a second but it's defo gonna lose some money with all these cancellations.
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I dont necessary believe it's financial difficulties, but if they continue with the enslaught of poorly executed cancellations then people will lose faith in the product and be reluctant to book.

I see that they've disabled the comments sections which is quite naughty of them.

Anyway.. I'm just being a moan because I've missed out on something I was looking forward to. I'm sure I'll get over it.

It could have been worse.. Aathe guys I was talking to in the queue said this was now their 3rd cancelled show!
 
SeeingVoices said:
I dont necessary believe it's financial difficulties, but if they continue with the enslaught of poorly executed cancellations then people will lose faith in the product and be reluctant to book.

I see that they've disabled the comments sections which is quite naughty of them.

Anyway.. I'm just being a moan because I've missed out on something I was looking forward to. I'm sure I'll get over it.

It could have been worse.. Aathe guys I was talking to in the queue said this was now their 3rd cancelled show!
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I know exactly how you feel. I don't know whether to transfer my tickets to another date or just ask for a refund and hope the show goes on a national tour of the UK nearer me so I don't have to potentially fork out wasted train fare again. Its also wasted time as our train doesn't even leave London til 9pm and we've been schlepping around since 2:15ish!
 
Thatkliqkid said:
I know exactly how you feel. I don't know whether to transfer my tickets to another date or just ask for a refund and hope the show goes on a national tour of the UK nearer me so I don't have to potentially fork out wasted train fare again. Its also wasted time as our train doesn't even leave London til 9pm and we've been schlepping around since 2:15ish!
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I'm going to give it one more shot and if it gets cancelled again, I'll know it's not meant to be for me..
 
Thatkliqkid said:
I know exactly how you feel. I don't know whether to transfer my tickets to another date or just ask for a refund and hope the show goes on a national tour of the UK nearer me so I don't have to potentially fork out wasted train fare again.
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Exactly. I used to do this sort of thing when I was younger, but these days I can't be bothered with the hassle. Not everything revolves around London. If they don't put on a show near me then I simply won't see it.

Especially if they're going to disrespect you by telling lies and constantly messing you around at the last minute!

Annita said:
became the 25th most grossed musical in the history of Broadway.
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We really need to stop falling for this sort of promotion. Tickets are now much more expensive than they've ever been before. Of course every current show is automatically going to "gross" more money than every previous show. It really doesn't mean anything.
 
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