BY: Walker
Published 3 years ago
Siblings Prince Jackson and Paris Jackson posed together at Radio City Music Hall on the Tony Awards red carpet on June 12th. The siblings attended Broadway’s biggest night to support the 10-time nominated musical, MJ: The Musical, based on their father, Michael Jackson‘s life.
via: People
At the event, Paris, 24, hugged performer Myles Frost, who stars as her dad in MJ and is nominated for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical. Paris also posed for photos with Prince, 25, on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony.
The siblings introduced a performance from the musical during the Tonys broadcast. Prince said, “A lot of people seem to think our dad changed popular music forever — and who are we to disagree? But what people may not know is he loved musicals, on film and on the stage. That’s why we are so incredibly honored to introduce the night’s first nominee for best musical, MJ, which, using many of his iconic hits, looks at the complexities and brilliance of our father’s process.”
The musical takes audiences inside Jackson’s creative process, depicting the singer rehearsing for his 1992 Dangerous world tour. It features over 25 of the singer’s biggest hits and is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon with a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage. The Estate of Michael Jackson is a producer.
According to a press release, the musical “goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star, offering a rare look at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that catapulted Jackson into legendary status.”
Prince attended the musical in December at the Neil Simon Theatre. A source told PEOPLE at the time that the show “blew him away.”
“Prince was very, very, sweet. He kept saying, ‘Wow,’ and talking about how much he loved the show, loved the energy — even loved the logo,” the source shared at the time. The insider added that Prince “mentioned how he can’t wait to see it again” and called Frost’s performance “incredible.”
Both Prince and Paris then attended opening night of MJ in February. That night, Paris posed at the show with her cousin TJ Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, Michael’s brother and member of the original Jackson 5.
Michael went from child star to chart-topping King of Pop, with hits like “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” He was arrested on charges of child molestation back in 2003, though he was acquitted of those charges in 2005. Jackson was accused of sexual abuse by two people after his death in 2013 at age 50. A 2019 documentary revisited the allegations.
In an April 2019 interview with The New York Times, Wheeldon said about writing the musical at the time, “We’re sensitive to what’s going on and we’ll see whether it works into the show or not. But the primary focus of our show has always been focusing on Michael’s creative process.” The musical does not address the scandal.
Nottage added in that interview, “We want this to be a musical that everyone can come to, regardless of how they feel about Michael Jackson, and they will leave with a better understanding of who he was as a human being.”
