Michael Jackson will now be the topic of a brand new production that is expected to hit Broadway in 2020.
The Michael Jackson Estate and Columbia Live Stage have announced that they will be developing a musical inspired by the late singer, while Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Lynn Nottage is pegged to publish a new book in tandem with the forthcoming play.
The score will draw from Jackson’s vast catalogue of hits, including “Beat It,” “Thriller,” “Smooth Criminal,” and “Off the Wall” to name a few. Additionally, contemporary ballet megastar Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph the musical.
It will be interesting to see how the Michael Jackson Estate will handle the more controversial aspects of the late hitmaker’s life, including his much-publicized 2005 child molestation case that plagued his public persona up until his untimely death a few years later. However, Jackson has an indelible roster of musical recordings that have a cross-generational appeal, and audiences will most likely attend to hear the hits and witness the choreography that cemented his status as an untouchable music icon.
