Spotlight on 'MJ The Musical' with Matte Martinez

As part of a series showcasing long-running Broadway shows, we speak to the 22-year-old star who's the latest to step into Michael Jackson's moonwalking shoes.

Appropriately, MJ The Musical has a history of discovering rising stars. Three actors play Michael Jackson as a child (Little Michael), young adult (Michael), and adult (MJ) in the Broadway show, and while they’re all a little older than the late musician was when he first fronted The Jackson 5, they’re carrying on his impressive legacy. For one, original cast member Myles Frost became the youngest solo performer to win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at age 22.

The latest star to moonwalk in MJ's shoes is 22-year-old Matte Martinez, who grew up dancing at his mom's New Jersey studio and said playing Jackson was like "stepping back into [his] childhood self." He made his Broadway debut with the production in 2023, performing as a standby for Michael and MJ before assuming the title role full-time in September 2025.

More than just a rundown of Jackson's hit songs, MJ The Musical uses them to illuminate his creative process, which Jackson shares with a documentary crew during rehearsals for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour. As the show approaches its fourth anniversary at the Neil Simon Theatre, Martinez reflects on why MJ is still such a thriller.

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Why do you think this show has lasted so long on Broadway?

Everybody remembers the first time they listened to a Michael Jackson song, or the first time they saw a Michael Jackson video. There is an unprecedented amount of groove in each of those songs. It's in our bones. If you hear "Wanna Be [Startin’ Somethin’]," you start moving. If you hear "Thriller," you start moving. There's a sense of community we've all created with Michael Jackson and memories that we attach to him.

The fact that MJ The Musical is on Broadway right now and is lasting this long — people clearly have a sense of nostalgia and a need to hear this music live. This theatre, also, the way it's built with the speakers, it feels like you're at a concert. It's the closest thing you'll get to seeing Michael Jackson in person.

What is the best audience reaction you have seen to the show?

I wasn't on stage for this moment because it was our standby, Brett Gray, who was on as MJ, but the way he tells the story is hilarious.

At the end of the show, I won't spoil it, but there's a very big, big ending, and it's been talked about throughout the entire story. When we [got] to that pinnacle moment, the lights cut out, and apparently, a lady in the audience goes, "And the rest was history!" It was the funniest thing ever.

Also, the applause that we get after "Thriller." I won't say when and where that happens in the story, but the applause we get after that song is, every time, warranted.

What is your favorite moment in the show?

Surprisingly, it's "Human Nature." I love that song. I grew up on that song, singing that song, playing it on guitar all the time. When we get to that moment in the show, that sense of ease and patience Michael has [...] is really beautiful to portray and sing. I look forward to it every time. Also, it's a glimpse into how he sees the world.

What is a little-known secret about performing in the show?

Anytime I'm not talking out loud — I shouldn't be doing this — but I'm sometimes joking with the cast when I'm on stage [and] the mic is not on.

What do you hope audiences take away from the show?

I hope people leave this theatre feeling inspired. Seeing a creative process unfold the way it does during the show is super insightful. I hope people leave the theatre feeling as if they got to know Michael a little bit better. He's lived a tricky life, and the show portrays it in a way where it's both about the creative process and about the music and about how special that is.

Music really does bring everybody together, and it's super special when it can do that, and this music does. You see it in the audience every night.

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Photo credit: Matte Martinez as MJ. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)