A Musical About Michael Jackson’s Life is Headed to Broadway
The life and music of Michael Jackson will be celebrated on Broadway soon.
The New York Times reports that the late singer’s estate has teamed up with Columbia Live Stage to develop a musical stage play about the King of Pop’s life.
The untitled production, which is expected to arrive on Broadway in 2020, has lined up an impressive list of creators for the project. The proposed musical will be written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lynn Nottage, and Tony Award winner/ballet superstar Christopher Wheeldon will direct as well as choreograph the production.
MJ has been the subject of various entertainment productions since his death in 2009 including a Cirque du Soleil-produced show called “Thriller Live,” which ran for five years in Las Vegas. The MJ estate’s also helped produced "Thriller Live," which is currently in its sixth year of production in London. Outside of the stage show, films have been made about the King of Pop –– most recently, Spike Lee's documentary Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall in 2016.
Jukebox musicals have become a growing trend in the Broadway world. Currently, the Donna Summer-based play "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical" in New York and the Temptations-based musical "Ain’t Too Proud" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., have attracted audiences to the theater.
Meanwhile, memorabilia collectors can add some new MJ merch to their collection this summer thanks to Pepsi. The soft drink company has released limited-edition cans with images of MJ, Ray Charles, and Britney Spears' as part of the company’s Pepsi Generations Summer Music campaign. The cans also features the new slogan ("This Is the Pepsi for Every Generation") aimed at the youth to remind them to "live life to the fullest."
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