As music plays, Michael Jackson musical a thriller at Fisher Theater – The Oakland Press

Near the end of “MJ The Musical,” Jamaal Fields-Green, as Michael Jackson, tells the fake MTV reporter (Cecelia Petrush) to “listen to my music.” It answers all the questions you may have.”

Not really. For all its sparkling, exuberant show, “MJ” also doesn’t tell us the full, or even true, story of Jackson.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great time.

“MJ,” which won four Tony Awards on Broadway, including Best Choreography, and runs through Nov. 3 at Detroit’s Fisher Theater, is one of THOSE jukebox musicals. There’s a reason why jukeboxes only play music, and the production team provides a case study of why it should be that way. Its script is one-story thin, relying on the usual tropes about the self-styled King of Pop’s life and career (post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood abuse, the isolating loneliness of mega-superstardom). Niggas can dine on historically inaccurate details and there’s nothing to really invest and care about.

Except when the music is playing and the actors are dancing.

“MJ” takes place during rehearsals for the Dangerous World Tour, Jackson’s second outing as a solo artist, which toured the world outside of North America from 1992-93. He also made his Super Bowl XXVII halftime appearance along the way. It was a success, grossing more than $100 million and spawning an HBO concert special, but it hardly compares in its legacy to the appearances of “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” or “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.”

When tour producer Rob (Devin Bowles) tells Jackson “you’ve created something that people will talk about for a long time”… well, not quite.

The rehearsal script and Jackson’s arduous pursuit of perfection become an exchange with the interviewer; This allows for non-linear flashbacks and Fields-Green to deliver discourses that are sometimes playful, sometimes serious, but never particularly revealing about Jackson’s character. . Like the jukebox musical, we get bullet points that miss the mark, leaving us wondering if we really need the words.

And in the case of “MJ” maybe we can’t do that. More than atoning for the musical is its body of hits by the Jackson 5, Jackson and Jackson’s solo hits, as well as caustic touches by Jackie Wilson, James Brown, the Isley Brothers, the O-Jays and even “The Sound of Music.” Even the darker songs shine with a joyful energy that can easily sweep you away.

And of course, for Detroit audiences, there are tracks about the Jackson 5’s signing with Motown (founder Berry Gordy and manager Suzanne de Passe are briefly portrayed) and early hits like “The Love You Save,” “I Want You Back” and “I Want You Back.” There are also hit songs. “ABC” resonates a little more than other cities.

Perhaps the best moments of “MJ” come early in its second half, when Fields-Green reprises “Billie Jean’s” legendary “Motown 25” performance – moonwalking and all, and how many artists have such clothing items as gloves, hats and jackets Does it deserve its own applause? – before segueing into an avant-garde, Fosse-esque dance revue that then transitions into the dynamic “Smooth Criminal.” It’s at that point that we realize “MJ” is more like “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”

Instead of “Beautiful: The Carole King Story” — it’s a revue dressed up as a biopic that could have told her story more effectively without the story.

A veteran of Broadway and London’s West End productions, Fields-Green is an effective leading lady who captures Jackson’s blend of reticence and ambition through intense gaze and careful body language. It helps that he has pipes (“She’s Out of My Life” is a show-stopper) and moves like Jackson (including sideways panning a few times during the show). And if the script doesn’t allow him to sound particularly empathetic, there are effective moments when Fields-Green imparts the hindsight wisdom of experience while onstage with the young Jacksons (a particularly strong Erik Hamilton and Josiah Benson as Little Michael). Bane alternates with Griffith).

Another standout amid a solid “MJ” cast is the commanding cast, who plays both producer Rob and Jackson’s father Joe, occasionally switching between the two with proverbial ditties, at one point delivering a surprisingly powerful high kick. is Bowles, a physical being. He’s one of the few “MJ” actors to portray more than one character, but Bowles’ huge difference between the two makes his performance all the more impressive.

The real takeaways, however, are the ensemble production numbers — especially those in the second act, such as “Thriller” (different from the video but still successful) and “Man in the Mirror.” And when “MJ” completely abandons the narrative and the cast closes out the night with songs like “Jam,” “Black or White” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” it’s a much-needed moment that really reminds us why we’re doing this. I care about Jackson.

“MJ The Musical” runs through Nov. 3 at the Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit. 313-872-100 or broadwayindetroit.com.