Jackson’s “Black or White” Video Spurred Furor, Album Sales

Expectations must have been a thorn in the side of Michael Jackson. Consider this: His 1987 album, Bad, sold roughly 35 million copies worldwide. That’s impressive by anyone’s standards, except Jackson’s: His previous album, 1982’s Thriller, sold twice that number. https://open.spotify.com/album/3Us57CjssWnHjTUIXBuIeH?si=LJlW_X-kQLWS4ImMhD9_lA MJ the Musical takes place on the eve of Jackson’s tour supporting the album... Continue Reading →

February 12, 2025

Producer’s Brush With Broadway Led to Record-Breaking Success

The Wiz was a Broadway smash, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz with an African-American cast and P.O.V. It had a four-year run, won a shelf-full of Tonys® and introduced the world to Stephanie Mills. https://youtu.be/uR2IZ9LFyxM The film version was a dumpster fire, swapping the musical’s book for trendy psychobabble, and replacing Mills (17... Continue Reading →

November 7, 2024

A Time to Dance – In Fact, a Whole Day for It

National Dance Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of September, as is Batman Day. What’s the connection? The Batusi, obviously: https://youtu.be/LFHY0NBsoNU?si=vVwyRSpyWFvT_S0M And doesn’t this wrap those two up with a little Bat-bow on top? But since we’ve already written about Batman Day, let’s focus on the feet. National Dance Day was established in 2010... Continue Reading →

September 17, 2024

MJ the Musical Is Michael Before the Tabloids Took Over

The songs and stories heard in MJ the Musical, coming to The Straz Feb. 25 - March 2, are from throughout most of Michael Jackson’s life and career. It’s set two days before the beginning of his 1992-’93 Dangerous world tour and that would not seem to be a random choice. https://youtu.be/Hxgo-Qu-ZZE By the end... Continue Reading →

June 25, 2024

Up ↑