By Joe Contreras, Latin Life Denver Media. (see video trailer below)

“It is hard if not impossible to fill the shoes of the iconic “King of Pop” Michael Jackson. So how successfully could a play about his career from childhood notoriety to his rise to legendary superstardom be pulled off with any degree of convincing reality?

We have all seen many Michael Jackson impersonators and like Elvis impersonators they are interesting but often fall far short of the real thing. Throw in acting, dancing along with sounding and conveying the emotions of Michael Jackson from his early days with the Jackson 5 to his “Dangerous World Tour” and you have taken on nearly an impossible task.

But with tons of award winning Broadway talent on all levels of production from the acting, choreography, scenic design, costumes to the live orchestra MJ-The Musical is a complete success. It is “spot on” as they say, in most every way possible.

“Going into the theatre, I really had to temper my expectations. It is hard for anyone to fill Michael Jackson’s shoes, so I wasn’t expecting all that” said Tony Kovaleski, an investigative reporter for Channel 7. “I did not expect to see or experience the exceptional performance I witnessed. This production really pulled it off in convincing fashion,” he said.

I could not have agreed more with Kovaleski, a former colleague during my 31 years at Denver’s 7. I was late getting into the theatre thanks to closure of one of the main parking entrances so I was not in good mood at the onset and was just expecting a Vegas style production. Nothing to really write home about. (allow an extra 20 minutes for parking). I could not have been more wrong.

When I finally got to my seat the stage was filled with people in rehearsal mode. They are practicing the choreography for the upcoming Dangerous World Tour that took place in 1992. Michael Jackson’s character, played by Roman Banks, actually, there are four Michael Jackson actors in the show with often more than one on stage at the same time. Michaels: Brandon Lee Harris plays him as a teen and young man, while Josiah Benson (alternating with Bane Griffith) portrays Little Michael.

Jackson wants perfection and will settle for nothing less. “lf they cant cut it we will find dancers that will” he tells his manager. Jackson fantasizes about being catapulted from underneath the stage six feet in the air and landing on a platform at that height.

There is an MTV crew constantly following Jackson around the stage documenting his efforts to create a concert that he believes would be his crowning achievement. They want to capture his creative process while prying into his personal being.

It’s August 13, 1967 and the Jackson 5 win Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the attention of Motown Records. It is an event that would shape Jackson’s quest for success and approval. The early songs are all there, ‘I want you back’, ‘Dancing Machine’, ‘Blame It On The Boogie’, and others.

Soon the story of Jackson’s life is unveiled. We are taken back to his childhood. His relationship with his overbearing and domineering father, Joe Jackson, played by Devin Bowles, is brought to light as he pushes his sons, the Jackson 5, beyond their limits constantly pressing/disciplining them to do better. Anastasia Talley is the Jackson matriarch, Katherine Jackson, she is sympathetic to her sons treatment by their father but looks the other way when it comes to his abusive manipulations.

Barry Gordy, Motown, Don Cornelius of Soul Train fame, Record producer Quincy Jones are all paid homage in the form of look alike guest appearances.

Then we’re back to the rehearsal studio, the MTV reporter, Rachel (Mary Kate Moore) is asking unrelenting questions pushing Michael to reveal more than he cares to reveal. “Listen to my music, the answers to all your questions are there” he tells her. Michael’s financial manager is deeply concerned about cost overruns in producing such an extravagant show and tries to temper Jackson’s ambitions. Michael is not having any of it and will risk everything to make the Dangerous World Tour happen.

The flashbacks continue to Jackson’s early career, his bouts with painkillers after his hair catching fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. Jackson reminisces about the challenges he had overcome to be the musical superstar of his day. In 1983, Michael Jackson became the first black artist to achieve significant airtime on MTV. The making of Thriller was another challenge. The Thriller dance number comes off as almost a haunting of Jackson’s past. The demons that pursued him. The show does not deal with the pedophile suspicions Jackson endured, nor with his death. Only his struggles with pain killers.

MJ-The Musical is two and half hours long. Following an intermission, act ll begins with a tribute Fred Astaire, Bob Fosse and the Nicholas Brothers and influence they had on Jackson’s dancing talent. The Moonwalk, his infamous ‘crotch grab’. I may have missed it but I did not see ‘the anti-gravity lean’. But the hits are all there. 40 in all, although some include the Soul Train Theme, and James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’.

MJ, The Musical is diffidently a treat to be had. Most likely you will be joining fellow audience members hooting, howling and fighting to stay in your seat while becoming a “Dancing Machine”.

Some LatinLifeDenver.com readers who have already seen the show posted some of their impressions: Angela Garcia called it “An Excellent Show! ” Patricia Barela Rivera stated, “Loved It! Valerie Quintana said, “I thought it was Super!! I thought the actor came as close to MJ as he could of possibly of done. NO ONE could have played it like the real Michael Jackson! Ruth Sanchez commented, “The actor who portrayed Michael Jackson killed! It was absolutely electrifying!

Jesse Estrada-Segura, told Latin Life Denver, “Saw it in NY as well and will be going again on the last day it’s here! That’s how great it is! Definitely worth seeing more than once!” I also am looking forward to seeing it more than once.

At the Buell Theatre, 14th and Curtis streets in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Through April 28, 2024. 303-893-4100.

TICKETS

Allow extra time for parking…Access to the Arts Complex garage from Arapahoe Street only is closed for renovation to provide a new cashless payment system, expedite entry/exit and enable pre-paid parking. Please arrive early, enter at 13th Street with a debit or credit card.