In England in 1999, after the huge success of the ABBA-songs show "Mamma Mia," the theater scene became awash with "jukebox musicals." From 2002's reasonably successful Queen-based "We Will Rock You" and "Taboo," which drew on the music of Boy George/Culture Club, to the following year's failures "Tonight's the Night" and "Cliff," hinged on the songs of Rod Stewart and Cliff Richard respectively, there was a dispiriting deluge of such shows prioritizing content over quality.
So when I saw a billboard advertising the January 2009 premiere of "Thriller — Live" at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End, it set off alarm bells. Obviously, simply using Michael Jackson's music was going to bring in the crowds, but I stayed away for fear the production might just be adapting the videos released with his hits.
Then when the star suddenly passed away on June 25 that year and the Lyric Theatre's frontage was buried in messages, presents and bouquets, not only did the show gain much wider recognition — but I realized that if devoted fans were turning that spot into a shrine, then my concerns over the show were likely unfounded.