Following the success of its recently concluded Australian national tour, original Broadway producers Lia Vollack and John Branca and producer Michael Cassel Group have confirmed that MJ the Musical will commence an International Asian Tour at Tokyo’s Tokyu Theatre Orb in January 2027. The Tokyo season will be presented by Kinoshita Group with John Gore Organization and Kumiko Yoshii.
Set during preparations for Michael Jackson’s Dangerous World Tour in 1992, the musical follows an MTV journalist who is granted access to the rehearsal room. This provides the framework for exploring Jackson’s creative process, collaborations and personal history.
The production arrives in Japan more than three decades after Jackson performed eight concerts at Tokyo Dome during the Dangerous World Tour. Its score includes more than 25 songs from his catalogue, including Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror and Thriller. The tour announcement also follows the release of the biopic Michael, which has introduced Jackson’s story to a new generation of audiences in Japan.
Director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon OBE reflected on his three decades of working in Japan and his previous visit to the Tokyu Theatre Orb with An American in Paris.
Japan has given me thirty years of extraordinary experiences creating and performing in the ballet and musical theatre, so returning to the Orb, where we brought An American in Paris, feels like coming home. MJ is a different kind of electricity, and I can’t wait for Japanese audiences to feel it. Full velocity from this incredible cast. See you in January.
Performance dates and ticket sale details for the Tokyo season will be announced closer to its January 2027 opening. For more information on MJ the Musical, check out my review of the production’s Brisbane season.
