Elijah Rhea Johnson as Michael Jackson in Broadways MJ (Photo: Matthew Murphy)
By Cris Franco
I just couldn’t say farewell to Hispanic Heritage Month without giving props to a man whose name and impressive credits I’ve noted in so many Playbill Magazines: Mr. Michael Balderrama.
Of Mexican heritage, Michael Balderrama is one of theater’s most prolific choreographers. An artist whose abundant talents can presently be seen in the mega-hit bio-musical, MJ – based on the life of the enigmatic “King of Pop”: Michael Jackson. And that’s not Balderrama’s only show-biz gig. The busy actor/dancer also serves as the Global Choreographer for The Great White Way’s other mega-hit, Hamilton. This assignement has him traveling the world, maintaining the high performance standards of the many companies that have kept the revolutionary Hamilton selling out in Chicago, London, Hamburg, Ireland and Australia.
And as if working on MJ and Hamilton weren’t impressive enough, Balderrama has also performed and/or choreographed for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights (where he played the title role as Usnavi), Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp’s dance masterpiece, Movin’ Out, and was featured in three big budget film-to-stage musical adaptations: Ghost, Saturday Night Fever and Unban Cowboy. Balderrama has a number of big shows under his belt – and rightfully so.
Whether performing or choreographing, Balderrama is always a standout. He has received unanimous praise, including a the 2022 Drama Desk Award in Choreography, for MJ. And you don’t have to look too far to understand why Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Christopher Weeldon chose Balderrama as his assistant choreographer, to bring the long awaited MJ The Musical to the stage. The reason: Balderrama is an inspired story teller when it comes to movement. And he’s filled Jackson’s life story with classic moves from the era along with an expanded dance vocabulary that helps the audience understand the artistically extraordinary journey “the gloved one”.
The musical’s book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Lynn Nottage, is set in 1992 during rehearsals for Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour. The plot skillfully navigates the public relations time-bomb that’s about to upend Jackson’s non-stop skyward trajectory. The two-act extravaganza incorporates Jackson’s signature moves along with Balderrama and Wheeldon’s new movement resulting in the one of the most thrilling dance shows ever presented on an American stage. I’ve seen MJ four times and always discover something new in the nuanced, explosive choreography. When it comes to MJ, I can’t stop, can’t get enough.
It’s serendipitous that Balderrama should be part of MJ, because it was Michael Jackson himself who hired Balderrama for his first real dance job in his extended song “Ghost“. Of working on MJ, Balderrama says the show, “… reminds us of not only the incredible talent and the incredible gift of music that he gave the world but (also) the world he had to navigate in order to make that happen. I think the show hits the mark where it celebrates his work and reminds us of the incredible talent, his incredible creativity, his uniqueness, while at the same time it’s not just a love letter. You know, we’re speaking about a human and an artist that struggled with difficulties.”
A dedicated artist to the core, Balderrama truly understands MJ’s perfectionism as Balderrama’s dances are perfectly shaped throughout the hit-packed evening featuring “Beat It,” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Dancing Machine,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’” “They Don’t Care About Us,” “Billie Jean,” “Can You Feel It,” “Human Nature,” “Bad,” “The Man in the Mirror” – and volumes more. But there are two standout numbers where Balderrama helped create a pair of peak choreographic moments: “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller.” “Smooth Criminal” is set up by a short prologue where the character of Michael Jackson introduces us to the dancers who most influenced his style: the slick Bob Fosse, the elegant Fred Astaire and the dynamic Nicholas Brothers. What starts out as a slow narrative explodes into the frenetic and mesmerizing “Smooth Criminal.” That number alone is worth the price of admission. Then, in “Thriller” (spoiler alert), plot and movement brilliantly intersect when MJ’s strict father, who both forged and terrorized the young Jackson, evolves into a literal monster haunting Michael’s memories. This perfect melding of story into dance is the 11 o’clock number that takes us to the end of the show by allowing us to enter into Michael’s sometimes tortured, always creative soul. “Thriller” leads us to understand both what might have driven MJ to superstardom and what may have stunted his emotional growth that led to the allegations that would haunt Jackson until his untimely demise.
For the aforementioned and so many more reasons, I recommend MJ The Musical to the world! You’ll hear some of the pop’s greatest tunes danced to Michael Balderrama’s glorious tribute to Michael Jackson’s immortal dance legacy.
Check out tickets and more information: www.mjthemusical.com
