All About the Thrill of MJ Star Myles Frost's Tony-Nominated Broadway Debut

Broadway's biggest night is just days away, and The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal is celebrating first-time Tony nominees. Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek sat down with Girl From the North Country's Jeannette Bayardelle, The Skin of Our Teeth's Gabby Beans, POTUS'  Rachel Dratch, MJ's Myles Frost and Take Me Out's Michael Oberholtzer. Here's a sneak peek of this special episode!

MJ The Musical spotlights music legend Michael Jackson, and Myles Frost, who plays the King of Pop in the new musical, received a Tony Award nomination for his splashy Broadway debut in the show. "It's a magical journey," Frost said. "I'm having so much fun."

MJ is not only Frost's Broadway debut—it's also the 22-year-old's professional stage debut. Receiving the nomination (one of the 10 MJ garnered) puts him in a category with mega-watt stars and returning Tony winners Hugh Jackman and Billy Crystal as well as stage stalwart Rob McClure and fellow newcomer Jaquel Spivey. "They're such cool people," Frost said of his fellow nominees. "To be amongst legends as well as new talent like myself—it's surreal. I'm honored to be in this class."

Despite the responsibility of playing a legend and leading a show, Frost exudes calm. His secret? "Having people around you that care about you working yourself to death and telling you, 'Hey, you need to stop. It's too much. It's too much. I'm not going to let you jump off the cliff,'" he said. "Michael never had that."

While the arts have always been a passion for Frost–he also plays the piano and drums–he did not originally set out to pursue theater. A high school teacher overheard him playing piano and encouraged him to audition for the school production of Hairspray. He was cast as Seaweed. "That definitely changed my life," he said. "When Seaweed came along, that was the first time I got to sing and dance on stage and in front of people and really explore that aspect of performing. I just fell in love with it." Frost would go on to play Warner in Legally Blonde as well as Lord Pinkleton in Cinderella while in school.

Frost's foray into the entertainment business is different from Jackson's journey. Jackson was famously a child star who took the music charts by storm a alongside his brothers. Meanwhile, Frost's mother filmed a 2016 talent show performance of "Billie Jean" on an iPad and posted it to YouTube. Nevertheless, Frost identifies with his character. "One thing Michael and I have in common is that we feel most at home on stage," Frost said. "I feel like that's where I can fully express how I'm feeling that day. If I'm angry, I can get that out. If I'm happy, I can express that. If I'm feeling conflicted, I can use the story to help with that. Even though there's a fine line between mixing your personal with the story and the character you're portraying, somehow I've been able to make it work and it's really been able to help me balance throughout this whole process."

Playing someone famous sparked many pivotal conversations for Frost. He even had the chance to speak with Jackson's son Prince, who attended opening night of the new musical. For Frost, it's about doing his service to the story. "I don't do this for a paycheck. I do this because I care about the story, and I care about portraying the character in the best light that I know how," he said. "I want to exceed. I want to do better than the show yesterday."

Frost insists impersonating Jackson isn't his intention. "I don't try to be anything that I don't feel like I am. Just being true to myself makes it easier," he said. "Why make it hard on yourself by trying to be something you're not? The show is hard enough. Everything is hard already. The easiest thing is just to be you."

The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal 2022 Tony Awards Special airs on 100+ stations across the country all weekend and in New York City on PIX11 at 6:30PM ET on Tony Sunday, June 12.

The Broadway Show Credits: Directed by Zack R. Smith | Executive Producers: Tamsen Fadal, John Gore, Lauren Reid and Rich Jaffe | Tony Shoot Producers: Paul Wontorek, Caitlin Moynihan and Lindsey Sullivan | Videographers: Alexander Goyco, Mark Hayes and Nick Shakra | Production assistant: Joanne Villani

Photo Credits: Photography by Emilio Madrid | Styling: Eliza Yerry and Maggy Francois (for Myles Frost) | Hair/Makeup: Rachel Estabrook and Earon Nealey | Photo assistant: Alan Padilla