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Feb 02, 2022, 10:02pmUpdated 9h ago

By: News 12 Staff

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is the subject of a new Broadway musical that openedTuesday night, andthe event drew friends and family members of the music icon.

Myles Frost is stepping into the shoes of the King of Pop, in hisBroadway debut starring as the music legend in MJ The Musical. Tuesday night'sopening brought out many who admired Jackson, including filmmaker Spike Lee.

"You know, I grew upwith Michael, I was born in '57, he was born in '58," says Lee.

Jackson's daughter, Paris, and his son, Prince, werealso on hand to show support. The musical is produced in cooperation with the Jackson estate. It includes many of Jackson's biggest hits, with a plot centered around Jackson preparing for his 1992 Dangerous Tour, then at the height of his powers.

Lynn Nottage wrote the bookfor the musical and calls the show a portrait of an artist at work.

"Often we see thefinished product but we don't really think about all of the ingredients that gointo making that individual," says Nottage.

The opening was a long time coming. MJ The Musicalwas scheduled to begin its Broadway run in 2020, but the pandemic delayed the show bynearly two years.

Jackson died in 2009, leaving an incrediblelegacy of music but also having been accused of child molestation, forwhich he was tried and acquitted. Longtime Jackson associate, the Rev. Al Sharpton, remembersthe artist he knew.

"I did the wholevictory tour as head of community affairs," says Sharpton. "Ipreached his funeral and I miss him, but I think the fact his music hasoutlived him and he always wanted to be someone that lived longer than hisbody."

MJ The Musical is being performed at the Neil Simon Theatre.

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Gonna be starting something! MJ The Musical opens on Broadway - News 12 Long Island