MJ The Musical, one of the most highly anticipated musicals to arrive on Broadway this season, opened at the Neil Simon Theater on Feb 1. The musical, centered around the making of Michael Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous World Tour,” was created by Tony Award®-winning Director/Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage. The stage was brought to life by scenic designer Derek McLane and lighting designer Natasha Katz, who are also Tony-award winners and Tony-nominated projection designer Peter Nigrini. PRG supported McLane and Katz, providing scenic, automation and lighting for the show.
Designing a show about the King of Pop comes with an innate pressure. McLane, who drew inspiration from Michael’s stage shows and videos, said creating the scenic design was intimidating because of the pressure to capture Michael’s showmanship, ambition and imagination.
Both designers acknowledged the strong collaboration between the design team on the project and are very pleased with the result.
To learn more about how the production met specific design challenges related to the scenic, automation and lighting, and to see more images, click here.