Cast members from Broadway's MJ The Musical visited Michelle Obama Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey, March 9 for a presentation and performance featuring the songs of the late Michael Jackson.
To celebrate Black History Month, the K-3rd grade school, founded in 2021, had been studying the work of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter. Each class was assigned a different Jackson song.
The cast performed five songs from the hit Broadway musical, spoke about Jackson’s life and impact on Black history and culture, and taught the students some dance moves and tunes from the show.
Watch the video above to see highlights from the visit, including performances from the company as well as remarks from MJ cast member Jamaal Fields-Green, Michelle Obama Elementary School Principal LaShanda Gilliam, and one of the elementary school students, who said it was the first time he had ever seen anyone "ever pull off the Moonwalk."
Check out photos from the morning below.
The musical features a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score made up of some of the most popular songs in recording history. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon directs and choreographs.
MJ also has sets by Derek McLane, lighting by Natasha Katz, costumes by Paul Tazewell, sound design by Gareth Owen, projection design by Peter Nigrini, hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe, music direction by Jason Michael Webb, musical supervision by David Holcenberg, and orchestrations by Holcenberg and Webb. Casting is by Rachel Hoffman of The Telsey Office.
Title player Myles Frost made history last year, becoming the youngest individual actor to win a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
The show took home four Tony Awards in total, including Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design in a Musical, and Best Sound Design in a Musical.
Read more about the hit musical in the Playbill Vault.