When MJ was being prepared for its Broadway debut, the creative team sat down for an interview to provide insight into their process and the magic behind the show.

LYNN NOTTAGE (Playwright)
When the notion of making a Michael Jackson musical was introduced to me, I just immediately jumped at it. Very few people truly knew Michael Jackson as the creative artist. They knew him as the pop star. We were really deeply invested in the story of an artist.

CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON (Choreographer)
We wanted the music and the dance to be the primary storytelling elements of this show.

LYNN
What you see when you come into the theater is really a mixtape of his life, the story of how he came to make all of his songs that eventually comprised the concert, Dangerous.

GARETH OWEN (Sound Designer)
I don’t think there’s anyone else who could have bought something quite as unique to MJ as Chris has. His credentials in in the ballet world allow him to have a new take on MJ‘s choreography.

MYLES FROST (Originated the role of “MJ” on Broadway)
I feel like I’m dancing with the Nicholas Brothers. I feel like I’m dancing with Fred Astaire, with Bob Fosse.

LYNN
Christopher moves us from the studio into Studio 54 to the making of “Thriller” in a way that feels fluid and fun.

DEREK MCLANE & PETER NIGRINI (Scenic Designers)
I’ve never done a musical there’s quite as theatrical as this musical. I mean, I can’t even count the number of transitions on the show. Lynn has written the cinematic piece. That speed of transformation, I think, is what an audience is excited by.

LYNN
We know as artists that there’s a lot of hard work, there’s a lot of pain that goes into putting together all of those pieces, and we wanted to show that journey that the Michael Jackson that you see, who’s polished and perfect, is just only one side of who that man is.

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