MJ the Musical

Caught the matinee — the lighting design did so much heavy lifting in Act II that I forgot to look at my watch once.

Wild swings between brilliant and baffling. The design choices stuck with me for days, even the ones that didn't quite land.

Disappointed. The book never earned its emotional beats, and a few of the songs felt like placeholders that never got rewritten.

Tight 95 minutes, no intermission, exactly the right length. Wish more shows knew when to stop.

Performances were sharp but the staging never quite settled into a rhythm — kept feeling like the second-act blocking belonged to a different show.

Funny, then surprisingly tender, then funny again. The lead's instincts on the laughs landed every single time.