Thriller Live the musical

It's been nearly 11 years since Michael Jackson died which is why it's surprising that there is a large number of children in the audience, many of which will not have been born when the singer was at his peak. Wearing the trademark sequin jackets or trilbys tipped forward, the audience are anticipating a 'Thriller'.

Michael Jackson was an icon of the 20th century, beginning his career enjoying chart topping success with his brothers in the Motown era as the Jackson 5, before continuing on with a solo career that sees his music enjoyed and downloaded still. Record sales consistently orbited, culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, 'Thriller' in 1982. Which leads to tonight's performance of 'Thriller Live'.

Direct from London's West End where it is now in its record breaking 10th year, 'Thriller Live'. With over two hours of non-stop hits from pop to rock, soul to disco it is a show that pays homage the legendary Jackson's career.

This performance is a shiny disco light, singing and dancing conveyor belt of more than 30 of Jackson's greatest hits. It feels very much like an evening's entertainment on one of the many cruise ships or holiday camps, or Strictly Come Dancing is doing a Michael Jackson week and you are focused on the House Band but the dancing is actually very good.

The show, held together by the loosest of narratives, begins with a selection of Jackson 5 numbers. These earlier songs are a bit slow and the audience looks a little bewildered about what's happening, a collection of vocalists appear one after the other to perform 'I'll be there', 'ABC' and 'Blame it on the Boogie' although in this last song there is a random dancer acting the buffoon, out of time and catching up. This adds nothing to the narrative, and distracts from the routine everything else is relatively simple and uniformly upbeat. 

During 'Rockin' Robin' a small child is played into the screens to perform the song while the dancers disco around the stage, again this adds nothing to the show as no vocals are actually performed by the cast. It might have been better to buy the rights and play the original footage of Michael performing to play in on video instead.

The show moves into Jackson's solo career but again this section is slow, and could loose a few songs that although showcase the vocalists talents as singer are not exactly well known chart smashers. Who would pick 'This Place Hotel' as one of Jackson's top hits? This would probably be a pointless answer on 'Pointless'.

After 'Dangerous' you really get a reminder of Michael Jackson's versatility and the unique gloss he lent to pop, rock, dance and even the ballad. 'She's out of my life' is crooned by Manchester's own David Julien although not a powerful voice on stage like the other vocalists Britt Quentin and Adriana Louise, when the ensemble come together his vocals blend well, some songs have been adapted to the lead singers and is not true to the original like 'human Nature', this was a little disappointing.

But it is the dancing that dazzles, none more so than Kieran Alleyne a silver gloved performer who moonwalks effortlessly from 'Billie Jean' to 'Thriller', through the tough choreography he even inspires huge cheers for the inevitable stage foot shuffle and the classic forward lean of 'Smooth Criminal'. 

Many of the routines are true to the iconic storytelling videos that are synonymous with Michael Jackson especially of 'smooth criminal' "Annie are you okay?" Whispered on stage is quite accurate.'Dirty Diana's' routine is a little raunchy for the amount of children that were in the audience. But the elaborate costumes and variation in dance styles showcased Michael Jackson to the full. This is all helped by the video walls and lighting that add to each performance.The band occasionally appear on stage proving that the music is truly live.

It is at least, a tribute to the man who ventured into the uncharted waters of mixing musical genres and came out the King of Pop. Saying that this show is not the 'king' and although it try's it misses the mark.
Generous 3 out of 5 stars