It's been seen by more than a million people on Broadway and many more on the West End, and now the Tony Award-winning MJ the Musical is heading to Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne.
Centred around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, MJ the Musical features more than 25 of Michael Jackonâs biggest pop hits set to show-stopping dance numbers, including âBeat Itâ, âSmooth Criminalâ, âMan In The Mirrorâ and âThrillerâ.
MJ the Musical is showing at Her Majesty's Theatre from September 9 until December 14. For more information and to book tickets, head to the website.
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Time Out Sydney reviewed MJ the Musical when it played at Sydney's Lyric Theatre in March. Read on for that three-star review: Â
If youâre of a certain age, you have history (HIStory, perhaps?) with Michael Jackson. I remember getting âThrillerâ on cassette as a kid. Dangerous was one of the first CDs I ever owned. I remember seeing the extended music video for âThrillerâ on VHS, which came packaged with a behind-the-scenes documentary. One woman, cornered for a quick vox pop at one of the filming locations, asserted that she loved Jackson because he was âdown to earthâ, which is darkly hilarious in hindsight.Â
Down to earth? The press called him âwacko Jackoâ â we all did. He slept in a hyperbaric chamber. He owned the Elephant Manâs skeleton. His skin kept getting paler, his nose thinner. What a weird guy! Was any of it true? Hard to say.
Even today, when a careless tweet is like a drop of blood...
This year marks Victorian Opera’s tenth anniversary, and so far, the company has offered highly successful, innovative productions alongside more traditional pieces featuring world-class performers. The VO's 2016 season – launched by artistic director Richard Mills – branches even further out into unfamiliar territory, and opera enthusiasts and lovers of the performing arts have plenty of reasons to get excited.
‘Different dreams’ was the theme of the launch, for good reason: the first production of the year will be Voyage to the Moon (Feb 15-19) which will see director Michael Gow blend Baroque operas into an entertaining pastiche, featuring respected Australian soprano Emma Matthews and leading mezzo Sally-Anne Russell.
A highlight is sure to be Banquet of Secrets (March 1-5), created by Australian author, screenwriter, comedian and producer Steve Vizard and celebrated composer Paul Grabowsky in tune with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The show – starring the brilliant Antoinette Halloran, who stole the show in the VO’s recent production of Sweeney Todd – will see four friends sharing a meal live on stage (created by chef Philippe Mouchel) and swapping secrets.
Anyone who encountered the divine voice of Jessica Pratt in the VO’s staging of I Puritaniseveral months ago would need no convincing to see Lucia di Lammermoor (April 12-21), in which she’ll be returning from Europe’s premier opera houses to sing her defining role.
Earlier this year, the Victorian Opera filled the Palais Theatre with Wagner’s dramatic Flying Dutchman, a benchmark work made contemporary with immersive 3D technology. The VO will follow up on this with a production of Laughter and Tears (Aug 13-18), created with Circus Oz with strong elements of Commedia dell’Arte, directed by Olivier Award-winning director Emil Wolk.
3D technology will appear again in 2016, with the Australian premiere of the musical Four Saint in Three Acts (Sep 30-Oct 1) by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein, performed 82 years after it premiered in Broadway. Staged as a youth opera, the piece will tell the story of Spanish saints in the 16th century. Fifty special guests will also have the opportunity to have dinner with ‘Gertrude Stein’ and her muse Toklas – brought to life by Australian arts innovator Robyn Archer and soprano Merlyn Quaife.
Artistic director Richard Mills has written a new opera for children – The Pied Piper (Jul 28-29)– which will be the next touring project after the success of this year’s Remembrance and 2013’s The Magic Pudding: the Opera. Families are also invited to a retelling of Cinderella (Jul 16).
Says Richard Mills: “2016, a year of different dreams, new operas from old music, new work on traditional themes, gastronomic subjects, evenings of musical nonsense assisted by cutting-edge technologies, blood, murder, laughter and tears: all the ingredients that give our art form a grand and rich power.”
