Michael Jackson Musical Announces Title, Early Plot Details and Pre-Broadway Run
If you love Michael Jackson, you’ll love this news: A pre-Broadway run of the MJ jukebox musical will hit Chicago this fall.
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
boasts more than 25 MJ hits and has set its premiere for October 29. As previously reported, Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph the new musical, while Lynn Nottage pens the book.
The musical will be set in 1992, as Jackson prepares for his Dangerous World Tour. The timing makes his first eight studio albums fair game—which include pretty much every iconic MJ track you could possibly wish for (not to mention the instantly recognizable moves from the music videos). Using tour prep as plot scaffolding also lends itself to a structure that could allow for ample flashbacks to earlier iconic moments in his career. As Nottage told the Chicago Tribune, “We are endeavoring to tell the story of one moment in the life of a very complicated man…We want to look at the pieces of his life that went into selecting his song list.”
It sounds like Wheeldon will have plenty of source material to draw upon, both dramatically and musically—but how will the master ballet choreographer’s style mesh with the King of Pop’s? And with Wheeldon’s Tony-winning track record, will he be able to elevate the oft-derided jukebox musical genre?
