For over 53 years the world had been privileged and honoured to be able to listen to music from the Jackson family, starting with the Jackson 5 and continuing with the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson. Thriller Live! aims to showcase the journey Jackson goes on through his music, starting with the earlier years and ending with some of Jackson’s iconic records.
The letters glow upon the stage spelling out ‘Thriller Live’ and the audience takes their seat. I look around at the audience and I see a mixture of characters; from the classic ‘60’s babies’ who grew up with the songs like “ABC” and “ I'll Be There” to the ‘90’s Diana’s’ who experienced Jackson’s BAD Era.. Thriller Live! had the Palace Theatre, Manchester, waiting eagerly with anticipation.
The first act lacks in momentum, the slow pace and rhythm of the songs, with classics like ‘Who’s Loving You’ and ‘ABC’, slightly missing the spot. The show feels cheesy and lacks grit, the coloured cartoon love hearts on the screen and bubble writing words spelling ‘You and Me’ disappoint and take away from the choreography on stage. I feel as though I’m cringing in my seat and I can’t work out what any of these elements may represent or symbolise; for the first seven songs I feel like I’m at a child’s party and I’m not enjoying the ambience being created by the show. As 'Rockin’ Robin' hits the stage I feel myself pick up and decide to give the show another chance, as the bright colours and upbeat song pull me in, I’m completely engaged with the young boy on stage only to realise that I’d have loved it even more if the young character was real and not a video recording, again another element slightly missed.
Costume changes were essential to the show's changing of era, dynamic and tone. Each song had a costume change and with 39 songs, that proved to be quite a feat to achieve. As with the other elements previously mentioned, I also believe the costumes missed the mark slightly, as some costumes weren’t fitted well for the dancers on stage and some looked quite low budget. The materials looked frail and essentially at times I was focused on the costumes more than the dancing which was a real shame as I loved the majority of the dancing.
The dancing throughout Thriller Live! was wonderful and when the dancers got it right, it was incredible especially in the songs ‘BAD’ and ‘Black Or White’, the pace and choreography in these pieces was electric and the effort each performer put into them was incredible. If each song had as much energy as these, the show would have blown me away; however I understand how this may seem unsustainable. One dancer who proved this was sustainable was Eva Philips. Philips was spectacular with pace, energy and characterisation galore! She was stunning, consistently changing from character to character and providing all sass and all game! Alongside Philips' stunning performance David Julien and Adriana Louise sounded beautiful when performing all of Jackson’s songs, incorporating Jackson’s quirky techniques whilst also putting their own twist on the King Of Pop's sound. Britt Quentin also provided a soulful and Jackson-like performance playing homage to the legend, Quentin's theatricality and soul encapsulated the audience and made us believe Jackson was on stage in front of us. A wonderful presenter and performer.
Personally, I feel Thriller Live! has the potential to be incredible and some people may disagree with me and say it’s already incredible and I don’t know what I’m talking about but as I’ve said previously, the show missed the mark too many times for my liking. I preferred the second half to the first, as the energy brought the audience alive and provided the spark that we imagined Jackson would bring. As an audience member if you were a die-hard Michael Jackson fan, I believe you would have enjoyed the mise-en-scene of the show however for us folk who just enjoy listing to Jackson, the cheesiness couldn't be forgiven. The concept is wonderful, the music legendary, but for me, something was missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Reviewer - Caroline Bleakley
on - 10/2/20
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