In one German city, more than 700,000 people have already bought a ticket to the same show. That city is Hamburg, and the show is “MJ: Das Michael Jackson Musical” at Stage Theater an der Elbe. Every evening, ferries bring people across the river to the glass-fronted theatre.
The story is easy to follow, even if you are not a fan. It unfolds during rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour and shows the two days before the first concert in Munich. You watch how songs, dance moves and lighting are built piece by piece. More than 25 hits, from “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” to “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller,” carry the night. The songs stay in English, the dialogue is in German, and the emotion lands clearly for everyone in the room.
The real surprise is how the production treats the role of Michael himself. The casting team do not search for simple lookalikes or impersonators. Benét Monteiro, Oxa and Prince Damien share the part and each brings a different kind of energy. Their contracts are extended, and a dedicated training program for future MJ performers is already in the works.
Michael Jackson’s Birthday 2025 | MJ the Musical
Before German audiences ever lined up for MJ, Broadway had already tested and proved the idea. The breakthrough came when a young actor named Myles Frost stepped into Michael Jackson’s shoes in New York and walked away with a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His high energy performance of “The Way You Make Me Feel” became the gold standard, setting the level of precision, movement and emotion that every new MJ cast, including Hamburg, now has to live up to every night.
MYLES FROST MJ MUSICAL in London
Here you see how “the Michael Jackson movement” is broken down, drilled and rebuilt until every shoulder, hip and heel hits the beat with razor sharp timing. The creative team talk about honoring his style without turning it into a hollow copy, and you watch dancers fight for that balance in real time.