What we expected
At first, we were a bit afraid that everything would be in German because that's what they usually do in Germany - translate texts and lyrics for musicals like The Lion King, Cats, Dance of the Vampires but fortunately, they didn't. It was all in English.
We were also unsure about the plot, if it was about MJ's life or just a collection of his famous songs, which we of course expected to be played like Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror, etc.
What we got
There was no storyline but all the famous songs starting from the times of Jackson 5 to his later albums were played quite chronological (except the songs that were released after MJs death). The band was also on stage, mostly hidden by a huge gate with a big screen - so the music was played live (great band) - the singers also sang live.
The opening was a desaster. The dancing was bad and the singers had flat voices with a couple untuned tones. But the show became better with time.
There were a lot of costumes but they looked cheap. There are better Halloween costumes in the stores than what they got.
The singers
There were five lead singers - one little black boy who sang all the Jackson 5 songs, one female and four male singers. What they did for The Way You Make Me Feel was quite cool - the woman sang it and a whole bunch of guys followed her and were seduced by her confidence. We liked Sean Christopher the best because he had the most similar voice and also the moves and charisma, followed by the little boy who was just too cute. Actually, I think they shouldn't have taken any other singers... Unfortunately, the sound engineer did a really bad job adjusting the sound system for the boy - the high tones were way too loud which made it unpleasant to listen. But other than that I liked the singers.
The dancers
Michael Jackson always had the crème de la crème of everything in his cast - best musicians and best dancers. It used to be every dancer's dream to be on stage with the legendary Michael Jackson. And maybe it's because both my boyfriend and me dance for quite a long time but we thought the dancers were not as good. In general, they had no clue of Locking - and I mean, come on... If you choose this dance, do it great. Anything else is just embarassing.Especially the ladies were horrible (for this musical at least). They might be better for something with jazzdance but they had no power and no style. Then, a couple breakdancers did some little tricks but oh boy... I don't even know where to start... Anyway, in the end I would say, there was a bunch of amateurs and only one single great dancer (the guy with the mohawk).
Conclusion
It was a nice evening with a lot of great songs but we don't think, it's worth the money. We would never have spent it on this musical. Anyway, there were a couple highlights. The singer Sean Christopher and the dancer with the mohawk were outstanding. If they had more people like them, it could be a great show. And if it wasn't for them, it would be quite devastating.Looking at the homepage (<< click >>), I can't help but wonder if it was a cheap production. If you go to Cast, there are no unified pictures - colored, black and white, background in all colors. It's not very professional.
I never heard of this musical before and your report sounds like it is very bad, so it's no big loss.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, definitely no big loss. If you get it for free, you should still go :D but not if you have to pay that much...
DeleteThat's pretty cool that you and your bf are both dancers. I know nothing about dancing. It was a good thing that the concert was free huh? But, on the bright side, you guys get to spend time with each other.
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