Defying gravity: Why Michael Jackson is still Bad
There’s no denying the superstardom of Michael Jackson and the musical about his life is a thriller of a show.
When music superstar Michael Jackson died, Ilario Grant was just seven years old. Now he’s channelling the legendary King of Pop in the Tony and Olivier award-winning spectacle MJ the Musical, arriving in Brisbane this month.
Set during the creation of Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous World Tour and showcasing 25 iconic hits, including Thriller, Smooth Criminal and Beat It, the production directed and choreographed by acclaimed Brit Christopher Wheeldon has enthralled five million people worldwide in five countries since its Broadway premiere in 2022.
The 23-year-old American has been starring as MJ eight times a week in Melbourne since last September. But Grant first stepped into Jackson’s shoes on Broadway, aged only 20, in 2023.
An open call became the fabled big break performers dream of. After submitting his video, Grant was flown to New York to audition solo before the creatives. He was then cast as standby lead, understudying the show’s eldest incarnations of the artist who is viewed by many as the ultimate entertainer – the mature MJ, and Michael during the first phase of his solo career from 16 to his early 20s. (Little Michael, the child prodigy who led the Jackson 5 to global fame, completes the musical’s portrait.)
“It was my very first theatre audition,” Grant reveals. “So, I auditioned with no expectation but to go in and do my best. They saw something in me and called me back that weekend.”
After two years on Broadway, he transferred his standby experience to the Australian production, which premiered in Sydney 12 months ago, then took over as lead for the Melbourne season.
Meeting Grant in person, the essence of Jackson’s contrasting off-stage persona is instantly apparent in his softly spoken (though lower-pitched) and humble manner.
“It’s crazy to think about, because three years ago I started this journey and it’s changed my life in many ways,” he says. “So, I’m very blessed. To be able to perform and share the gifts that we were blessed with, that’s something I never take for granted.”
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Born in California’s Moreno Valley, Grant had begun singing as a four-year-old before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, aged six. Despite being “just a kid”, he was a fan when the 50-year-old idol’s death shocked the world in 2009.
“Of course, like everyone on Earth at that time, I knew who Michael Jackson was, so when I did find out the news, it did devastate me,” he recalls.
It was when Grant explored his own professional performance aspirations that the full impact of Jackson’s loss and legacy registered. Missing out on growing up alongside the idol’s musical evolution, Grant discovered the breadth of Jackson’s artistry through his music video archive.
“After he passed I really got into Michael Jackson – being able to research him, finding videos of him – because I was getting into (developing) my artistry and what I wanted to do as an artist. I was like, ‘Oh, I want to be like (him)!’ So, to be able to play him in the show is very full circle.”
Incredibly, though, when Grant first got the gig, by his own admission he was an actor-singer rather than a fully fledged triple threat with a mastery of the pioneering moves fused with Jackson’s music.
Not that he hadn’t tried. In a scene replicated in millions of bedrooms and lounge rooms around the world, he’d put on those videos and do his best to mirror the seemingly effortless “moonwalk” and toe stand. And as countless others will commiserate – “I always failed, every time,” he concedes, shaking his head with a wry smile.
But in 2020, after graduating from high school where he’d begun acting, he “started taking dance seriously”. He began formal training, “learning the art form of dance and movement” through classes in “all the genres: hip hop, jazz, contemporary, and ballet every once in a while”.
‘Once I got in the room with them, it was like magic. It was a breakthrough, because I figured it out. Everything clicked’
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“I just kept with it. I kept training,” he says. “And in 2023 that’s when I got the audition.”
But even as a somewhat raw 20-year-old he clearly exuded a special spirit and energy. The expert tutelage of director/choreographer Wheeldon, global associate choreographer Michael Balderrama and Michael Jackson movement gurus Rich + Tone Talauega provided the polish that enabled him to truly shine and finally nail his previous fails.
“I didn’t properly understand how the ‘moonwalk’ and the toe stand worked until I got with the show,” he says. “Rich + Tone Talauega danced with Michael Jackson in the History tour and choreographed multiple videos for him. Once I got in the room with them, it was like magic. It was a breakthrough, because I figured it out. Everything clicked.”
At the same time, the influence of Wheeldon’s classical background has been equally beneficial in providing an overarching foundation from the outset.
“The purpose of us getting into ballet as standbys was to cultivate that art form and to be able to transfer it to the stage,” Grant says.
“When I booked the show, I took privates (lessons) consistently every week to be able to (improve) my posture, my lines – everything that was important to Michael, because Michael was a tapper as well. He was an artist of all facets. And it’s helped me tremendously and helped shape the show that people are going to see here in Brisbane.”
The reason that MJ the Musical has thrilled audiences globally is simple, really, Grant muses: “Because it’s Michael Jackson.”
And this experience is the closest any of us will get to that of seeing him perform live.
“There’s nothing that you will miss after you see our show,” Grant says. “I’ve had compliments from people saying that they felt like they’ve seen Michael Jackson in concert.
“So come ready to enjoy the music, enjoy the story. We’re focussing on his creativity (and) his passion, behind the music and the Dangerous tour itself.
“I just want people to experience all emotions – happy, sad – and to be able to feel their feels and be reconnected again to the reason why they love Michael Jackson – and leave on a high.”
MJ the Musical, Lyric Theatre, QPAC, March 27 to May 24.
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