The Michael Jackson Musical

There are two things that I will always remember about Michael Jackson: the first time I saw him on stage, and the day that he passed away.

When I was a teenager, I had a crush on Shaun Cassidy. I used to listen to his music and watch him in The Hardy Boys Mysteries. So, a family friend took me to see his concert. At the time I had no idea who was Michael Jackson. As we waited for Cassidy to show up, the audience was introduced to The Jackson five. They were the supporting act for Shaun Cassidy. And out came this little kid along with his brothers. I thought he was the cutest thing ever. Today, I get a kick out of the fact that Michael Jackson was an opening act for Shaun Cassidy. Who knew that this little kid would grow up to be bigger than life.

It's a shame that he had a tragic life. He was abused by his father and those around him. Everybody wanted a piece of him. The more people, the authorities, and the media intruded on his life, the more withdrawn he got until his death on June 25, 2009. I had to look up the date he passed away, but I will never forget that day because Iran was going through the Green Revolution, and the news coverage all over the world was focused on what will happen in Iran. As soon as Micahel Jacson passed away, everything about Iran disappeared, and the news became all about Michael Jackson.

As my friend and I waited behind the red light in Hollywood, before doing a diagonal cross, I noticed four friends in front of me, wearing Michael Jackson gloves. I thought how cool, I want a photo of them as I stalked them discreetly toward The Pantages. At one point I said, “excuse me, may I…,” and then I realized they wanted to do a selfie, so I said, “I can take a picture of the four of you.” After taking several photos of them, one of the ladies asked me what was my question? So I asked if it would be alright to take a picture of their hands. They were so nice about it, and we all had a good laugh.

The MJ musical was good. The New York Theater, and The Washington Post had raved about it. But I base my review on what I see, and how I feel. I thought the whole thing was hyped up to a point where expectations were high. Also, Michael Jackson’s shoes are big shoes to fill. There is only one Michael Jackson, and it’s not an easy task to emulate him. If you accept this, then you will enjoy the musical.

On the positive, the singing was great. As for the dancing, I thought some of the dances were too stiff, and some of the choreography could have been better. A few of the dances seemed to be consisted of a series of memorized movements. Dancing is an expression of how you feel inside. If you don’t feel it, and let yourself go, then the movements look too mechanical. Also, some of the choreography had no direction. It seemed as though each person was doing their own thing. Plus the songs in the musical were repetitive. Why, When Michael Jackson had lots of songs and performances to choose from? I would still give this musical an A. The performers worked hard to give the audience an authentic experience. The young Michael Jackson you will see in the below video, wearing a plaid shirt, had it down when it came to dancing. His movements were fluid and inspiring.

 

Mamma Mia! at the Pantages

Mamma Mia! at the Hollywood Pantages is excellent. But before I get to that, I just want to say that I’m so behind updating this blog. First, I don’t like this time of year because the days are shorter. I do a few things, and the day is over. Second, I was planning to blog two weeks ago, but my laptop stopped working on Saturday, and I was up until 1:30 a.m. at my brother’s house as he tried to get the keyboard and mouse to work. I have to say, he is a lifesaver because he finally solved the issue; otherwise, I would have lost a lot of data. And this past weekend, I hanged out with my family and my niece who was on a college holiday, and a friend I hadn’t seen in a longtime. So, this post will be short, but I’m working on a few things coming soon…

My friend and I got to the theater right before the lights were dimmed. This year, she and I have been to a bunch of plays. If I don’t like a play, I don’t blog about it. And although Frozen is still my favorite musical in Los Angeles to date, I must say, this jukebox musical was pretty good and put us in a happy mood. Of course, no one is allowed to record any of the scenes until the end.

There were a lot of funny scenes. The outfits in the above video when the trio first came on the stage were so outrages that we couldn’t stop laughing. One of my favorite scenes is when Rosie chases Stavros in the Take a chance on me scene. In the movie, it is funny, but in this play, it is absolutely hilarious.

Another fantastic thing about this play was that the actors loved performing and were enjoying themselves. So, when the story ended, they continued to sing and dance, and it felt like we were watching yet another performance.

The acting, singing, dancing, and Choreography, were flawless. If you get a chance, go see it. You will not be disappointed. And you don’t need front row seats to enjoy this play. The balcony or upper balcony works just fine.