“It’s a serious task to move like someone who has spent their life honing their style and creating such a recognisable way of moving”: Jamaal Fields-Green on MJ the Musical at Prince Edward Theatre
This summer 30 years ago, Michael Jackson released the album HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I. A tribute to his already impressive career, the compilation featured the greatest hits. MJ the Musical, the Broadway jukebox musical which opened in 2021 and made its way to the West End at the beginning of 2024, is an exciting and vibrant production that commemorates more than one album and some of the hit songs. Although set in a specific timeline, the show traces the character and talent of Michael Jackson as he rose to stardom and beyond. Jamaal Fields-Green is the young talent currently stepping into the shoes of the King of Pop at the Prince Edward Theatre.
Soon after his musical theatre graduation, Fields-Green played John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Chicago company’s run of Hamilton. He first joined the MJ the Musical production on Broadway in 2022 as a standby, then alternate first and later the lead in the US national tour of the show, before taking over the title role in London at the beginning of this year. At present, he is the only actor to have gone three runs in a row. A big MJ fan, he has shaped his performances over time for a smooth rendition of the protagonist’s singing and dancing. Passionate about music, recently, Fields-Green has also released his latest EP, What Was the Reason, featuring three original songs blending R&B and pop.
We caught up with Fields-Green after a midweek show at the Prince Edward Theatre, where he gave us a little backstage tour, and we chatted about becoming Michael Jackson, the crafting of costumes and the most emblematic sequences in the show.
Hi Jamaal, thank you for your time and congratulations on such a smooth performance. You are incredible! Did you have to practise a lot to get into the role?
In general, so much. I mean, I still practice…anytime! It’s in my algorithm for social media, or like on YouTube, random shorts or a video will pop up of MJ, whether I’ve seen it or not. Most of the time I haven’t seen it, and I’ll watch it for the first time. For example, today, I was watching his first performance of Dangerous. I’ve watched a ton of footage – there’s so much footage! Thankfully, he is who he is, so I could watch a lot of live performances. I watched his music videos, of course, but most importantly, a lot of live performances to really get the essence of how he moved in real time, not just for the camera. And then I watched a lot of videos simply of him talking, just so I can really emulate his voice and hear the consonants, the inflexions, and get that sweet spot of where his voice sat. Because it was Michael Jackson, so I want to make sure that I do it properly.
I’m assuming you were already a Michael Jackson fan before starting this…
Yeah, I was when I grew up. I’m thinking about all the way back to when I was a kid…So growing up in the Bronx, I used to dance to Beat It and You Rock My World for my whole family. My grandpa would be like my DJ. He would play and we would dance to those songs in front of my family in the living room. So, yeah, I grew up a fan like everyone else. I became a bigger fan when he died, because there was the resurgence of his music and everything. And I kind of got deeper into his albums, other than just the hits, like Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal and Thriller. I started getting into Leave Me Alone and the whole Bad album, my favourite album. When I began here, I also researched more of the people who knew MJ, toured and danced with him during the HIStory tour. Those were my teachers, on top of Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography. And the first thing that they said to me, and they said to everyone – which is what I love – they say “everyone thinks that they know MJ, but they don’t”, because I thought I did. I thought I knew how to do the glides and the moonwalk and everything. And then came all the learning. And I was like, “Oh, am I a fan? What? Do I know anything, how to do it properly?” You really learn how much discipline it takes your body to isolate and execute the movement. So, yeah, I would say, I was like a general MJ fan. I looked up to him so much. I loved the videos – Thriller scared the crap out of me as a kid, I would always have to close my eyes anytime the zombies would come up, then when they would start dancing, I would be like, “Okay, I can watch again,” and then they’d come back, and couldn’t watch again – but I always thought it was cool. I was a moderate fan, but became a bigger fan as I got older, and I mean, of course, now [even more so]. As many videos [I’ve watched] and studying I’ve done, he was really just an alien in the best sense of the word: he was out of this world. There’ll never be another like him. He was just so freakishly good – he was so good, so so good. What I do on that stage is a fraction of what he was able to do.
Is there a favourite song or sequence for you?
The entire sequence, and then song, that goes into Smooth Criminal, and then Smooth Criminal itself. With the dance heroes, with Bob Fosse, Fred Astaire and the Nicholas brothers, and getting to dance with them: those styles are kind of the most varied part of the show. I do tap dancing, jazz and ballet, and end on Smooth Criminal: I feel like a superhero, doing all of that during the number. I’m sure the audience can feel the music out there, but we can feel it so much on stage. And Smooth Criminal just hits my chest a certain way. Thriller is my second favourite, and I love Beat It as well.
Is there one particular jacket (or piece of clothing) out of all the ones you wear on stage that you really like and would love to have?
The glittery jacket is so nice. Actually, I am on a quest to ask them, after my last show, if I can keep the glove – it has a little bit of weight to it – it’s really, really, really nice. And it is made strictly for my hand. I remember they had to measure my hand. So it’s not like anyone else could wear it, you know. But it’s the very first jacket, the one that I would love to take: the embroidery and all the details, the fabric, everything is just so good. And it’s also my style! This is really something that I would wear to an event or something. All these costumes are so well crafted. There is a big investment in making them the best of the best you can find out there, and they are the perfect size for each one of us: all of the jackets are custom-made for our bodies. Same thing, like with my pants, for instance: I just had to recently get all of my pants readjusted, because this is about to be my third year doing the show, and recently I’ve lost a little bit of weight, so they had to take all my pants in by an inch. And that’s to fit me perfectly, and also because Michael was really, really tiny. Let me look at my wardrobe… this shirt, the blue shirt: it’s really, really simple, but I love this shirt. I love it because it reminds me of MJ’s 1988 performance that he did at the Grammys. The 1988 Grammy performance might be one of my favourite performances he ever did on TV. And then, there’s the Bad leather jacket, that is so cool. Maybe not on hot days like these ones in London right now – probably the worst jacket to wear during the heatwave!
Are they special shoes that you wear on stage?
No, they’re normal shoes! They’re made by T O Dey Custom Shoes; they’re based in New York. They make a lot of shoes. I did Hamilton when I first started my career, so for example, they also make the Hamilton shoes. They make basically almost all the Broadway shoes. In this case, they style it like a loafer, but then on the bottom, it’s more of a kind of dusty sole. I used to play middle Michael as well when I started on Broadway, and those were basically regular loafers. The ones I wear now are made more to really dance in them, and you can see it from the way the heel is shaped. I already have the pair of shoes that I debuted in on Broadway – they let me keep those, also because every six months we go through new shoes, and the old ones are probably going to the trash, so I could keep those. The next thing I would love to keep is the glove! However, I know already they’re gonna put that into the inventory. They do the same thing with the Hamilton costumes, like they keep the Hamilton costumes in the inventory to either give them back, or maybe give them to somebody who doesn’t have the costumes yet and make adjustments, or in the archives. Talking about shoes, I have “toaster” shoes: really, really soft on the inside for the impact when we land – like, they’re not loafers at all, but they’re super, super comfy.
Did you have fun coming out of the toaster?
I will be honest: the very first time, I was very, very nervous. You’re being shot up into the air, literally. It’s a lot! You would think it’s cool. And go there, be “right, it’s gonna be so much fun”. And then, I remember, once there, at that very moment, “I don’t know if I want to do this right now.” But after the first few times, it’s like the most fun thing. And the trick is, you don’t have to jump. It’ll send you up into the air. You’ll go too high – it’ll literally be like that much into the air. But the more you jump into it, the higher you go. And eventually I wanted to try and see how far I can go, and it’s exhilarating. It’s so fun, so so fun.
Is there still a moment in the show that “wows” you?
Smooth Criminal. There’s something about that number… All the way to it, not even the choreo, the cardio of it all. Not every time, but sometimes I’m still gassed after the show, and after that number specifically, like I haven’t done it over at least 100 times now, you know. I’ll say Smooth Criminal is something that definitely still “wows” me, because with all the lights and the sequence, where it’s all red and it’s really quiet, and even before we go into it, it’s just so magical. Another number is Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, for the drums. I feel it in my chest, dancing alongside everyone else – it just wakes something up. And then Billie Jean, of course. But dancing with the heroes – with Bob Fosse, Fred Astaire and the Nicholas brothers – is my favourite, because I get to do a little freestyle. We do this big, extravagant, like theatre history lesson, and then it gets very, very quiet, which will be called the sizzle moment, where everyone’s kind of popping and locking in the moment where I’m roboting into the middle, and it gets really, really smooth and quiet, and then bop, bop, bop, bam, and the lights go up, and then it’s Smooth Criminal. I think it’s just so magical, the way that all the elements come together. It’s theatre, and it’s also really Michael Jackson, which is what the show is. So it’s probably the epitome of the show, aside from Thriller, you know. And in Bad, aside from what I do throughout the show, I get to really evoke him, his energy and his spirit in that moment, like: what he would do if he were to freestyle in this moment?
So you had some input into the choreography?
Yeah, just a tiny bit. There’s a little bit of room for me to do a little bit outside of it. And of course, if any of the creatives come in, and be like, “Jamaal, I know what kind of song this is gonna be.” [I can say,] “Okay, what do you need me to do?” Thankfully, I can say there’s a lot of trust that I’ve got from them, you know, with the work that I’ve done, the work that I put in, because they’ve seen my journey from standby to alternate to now leading the second company – because I started leading the tour back in the States and now leading here.
Do you feel there’s a different audience reception from the States to here in the UK?
Yeah, of course. London audiences, you guys love practising “theatre etiquette”. That’s what I call it: very quiet, just listening. But I love it, though, because it really enables actors and myself, in my opinion, just on a general note, to really focus more and engulf ourselves in the world, you know? And just really, I guess, be more present on stage, and then at the end, they’re always going crazy. So it’s like, “Oh, you guys were watching the show? Awesome!” I’m so used to it now that if it’s very quiet during certain moments, it doesn’t throw me off. I’m just like, “Okay, let’s just keep going”. Because at the end of the day, an audience can hate the show, it’s my job to tell the story and also to have fun and do what I love to do. You just take it with a grain of salt, that comes with what we do as entertainers, as artists, performers, actors. Not every audience member is gonna love the show. So, it has never happened, but sometimes the whole audience doesn’t love it. You gotta just be prepared. It’s about having fun. But thankfully, the audiences do love it, so you know, that’s a plus.
How did you find you developed in the role as the performances progressed (also considering first your alternate role in the company, then the title role in the tour and now in London)?
Growth in this role has always been gradual. It’s a serious task to move like someone who has spent their life honing their style and creating such a recognisable way of moving, but as time has gone on, I’ve felt my body starting to adjust more and more to MJ’s movements, the nuances and small details. The benefit of playing this role for so long is that I’ve been able to put the time into replicating, practising and honing it – but even though it’s been years of practice, I’m still growing and learning now. It’s a never-ending process!
Who or what inspires you to create your own music?
My uncle. He used to rap back in the day, and I’ve always looked up to him. He was my biggest supporter when it came to my music. He sadly passed last year, but his spirit keeps me going, encouraging me to reach my goals. I’m also inspired by the idea of leaving a legacy of my own behind, one that positively impacts others and hopefully inspires them in their own creative outlets.
Any upcoming personal projects you can share with us?
I recently dropped a new EP, What Was the Reason, under my stage name – J Hasan. It’s a three-single EP that I’d describe as a mix of R&B and pop. It’s been fun to produce the music and videos, and I’m so proud of what we created! It was also cool to keep it in the MJ family, with features from two other MJs – Brandon Harris (Middle Michael on the West End) featured on track two ISO, and Jordan Markus (lead MJ on the national tour) on the title track, What Was the Reason. Now this has dropped, I’m moving on to my next musical release, with a larger EP planned for later this year. All my music is available via Spotify, Apple Music, and my personal YouTube.
Beyond music, I also have been working on writing and directing short films. I’ve completed two so far – The Trick and The Inevitable – and I’m currently in the editing process of my next one. So I’m hoping to showcase some of my filmmaking skills in more upcoming film festivals.
And now, some quick-fire questions: Jamaal’s coffee order?
Trick question! I don’t drink coffee. I love the smell though.
Top spot to visit in NY?
Like a true New Yorker, it’s got to be my local bodega for my go-to sandwich order. Might have to gatekeep the details – not sure I want it hitting the mainstream.
Top spot to visit in London?
I’m still finding my way around – it’s a big place! My fiancé and I do love Sanjugo for some sushi though!
Hottest ticket in theatreland (after MJ the Musical)?
I saw Evita last week and like everyone else, have been buzzing about it. Jamie Lloyd is an incredible director – I love the way he’s blended the play into the real world with the balcony scene – seriously inspired!
When not on stage, Jamaal is…?
At the studio recording, at the movies catching the latest release, or chilling out on the couch playing video games – I’m not great at downtime, but sometimes it’s necessary!
Favourite colour?
Red.
Dancing or singing?
Hard question because I love both equally for different reasons. If I really had to choose, maybe dancing edges it…
Wonderful, thank you so much!
Cristiana Ferrauti
Photo: Matthew Murphy
MJ the Musical is at Prince Edward Theatre from 24th March 2024. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
Watch the trailer for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward Theatre here:
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