‘Thriller Live!’ has had a successful run in the West End and is now touring around the globe. The show is a celebration of the music and style of Michael Jackson.
It’s impossible to think of Jackson without thinking of the many controversies that engulfed his life. His music is linked to memories of court cases, llamas and chimpanzees, oxygen tanks and a myriad of other tabloid stories.
This show only focuses on select areas. Jackson’s music, his chart and sales success, and his message of world peace – it feels like its giving a very select reading of history.
That’s the way serious Michael Jackson fans would like us to see the self-proclaimed ‘King of Pop’ – just remember him for his music. There were certainly lots of fans at the opening night of ‘Thriller Live!’ and they clearly loved the show. The auditorium was filled with cheers,whistles, squeals and Jackson’s signature ‘whoo-hoos’.
Unlike Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Immortal’ show which felt like a massive celebration of Michael Jackson with a distinct absence of Jackson, this show has a lot more heart. It features a singer who sounds like Jackson, a dancer who moves and looks like Jackson and a whole bunch of dancers and singers who clearly love the music.
It’s a big cheesy Las Vegas style review, and it does it well. Charting songs from Jackson’s time in a group with his brothers, through the disco era and on to his breakout solo album ‘Off the Wall’. There’s attention given to his mega selling ‘Thriller’ album, the iconic ‘Bad’ album is well represented, and there’s even a touch of ‘History’ representing.
Prinnie Stevens is a revelation. Best known for her time on ‘The Voice’, the Australian entertainer shows that she is a talent to be taken notice of. Stevens nails a delicate balance of killer vocals and tight dance moves. While she’s paying tribute to Jackson, she’s not losing her own identity – and she looked like she was having a mountain of fun.
Alex Buchanan from Manchester has a voice that eerily sounds a lot like Michael Jackson. He’s a definite asset to the show, with a captivating stage presence and smooth vocals he was very entertaining.
Australian entertainer Mig Ayesa is probably best known for coming third in ‘Rockstar INXS’ – the reality TV show that saw the iconic Australian band search for a lead singer. Ayesa has had a successful career in musical theatre appearing in musicals around the world.
Ayesa’s performance is ‘Thriller Live!’ is over the top. He has a massive over the top quiff, he delivers lines in an over the top fashion and emotes like he’s in a soap opera. Sure Ayesa can sing – but his O.T.T. performance was distracting and lacked the sense of natural fun that his fellow performers delivered.
The show is a constantly melody of hits. The disco section which included ‘Show You the Way to Go’, ‘Can You Feel It’ and ‘Rock With You’, it was great fun. The delivery of ‘Beat It’ and ‘Thriller’ was a clever nod to the iconic videos while adding some original flavours, and a few unexpected tracks like ‘P.Y.T’ also made it into the set list.
The deliver of ‘Man in the Mirror’ touched on Jackson’s creative focus on peace, but by the time we got to the end of the follow up ‘Earth Song’ I was feeling uncomfortably like I’d been transported to a Hill Song church convention.
The delivery of ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ is delivered as a fun gender role reversal, Prinnie Stevens sings the songs while four boys dressed in blue shirts attempt to woo her, it’s a fun role reversal based on the original video.
Overall, it’s a fun show – don’t look for any depth and have a great time.
Thriller Live! is on a the Crown Theatre until December 21st, get tickets via Ticketek.
Graeme Watson
