Meet Samuel Nelson III, the 18-Year-Old Making History as Broadway's Youngest Michael Jackson in MJ The Musical

18-year-old Samuel Nelson III makes his Broadway debut as the standby for the title role and the role of Middle Michael in MJ The Musical. For Nelson, being in the Michael Jackson jukebox musical once seemed like a far away, bucket list item. "This is always a show I've aspired to be in," he says. "I was like, 'I'm young, so there may be a revival. Pray there's going to be revival.' But I'm doing it here, now in the moment."

The opportunity presented itself earlier than planned, and Nelson is using it as an on-the-ground learning experience. "I was supposed to go to school in New Jersey at Montclair State. I was supposed to be training to do musical theater and learn more about my craft and the different techniques for dancing, acting, singing, vocal health, vocal technique. And now just to be here and get all that in one, I'm treating this as my semester of college. I'm getting a whole bunch of resources. There's so many veterans here."

Nelson holds the distinction of being the youngest performer to portray the King of Pop on Broadway. Though this is an intimidating undertaking, the recent high school graduate feels his age can be an advantage. "If I'm going to be the youngest person to play MJ and do this role, then you're going to see a young energy. You're going to see something that's fresh on the stage that people haven't seen before. So I just take it like that and try and give myself grace."

As if it isn't daunting enough to make your Broadway debut playing a global icon, Nelson also had to do so on a two-show day. "I was super nervous," he admits. There were so many emotions going through my head. I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan. Honoring Michael Jackson is the biggest thing at this point. It's not about me." To prepare for his debut, Nelson arrived at the theater hours early. "I walked through the aisles and I sat up in the mezzanine and listened to music, called my family," he recalls.

"I had so much adrenaline the first show and I gave so much the first show. I went back to the warmup room and I was falling asleep. Getting my makeup done, I was falling asleep in the chair," Nelson says of his first time going on as MJ. "So I was like, 'Oh no, this isn't good. I have to do something to get myself awake.' I just started jumping around, jumping on the couch, trying to do something to get myself up. It was crazy."

In order to get into the complicated psyche of the central protagonist, Nelson worked with global associate director Dontee Kiehn. "We talked so much about Michael's life and did a whole lot of table work. Anytime I do table work with Dontee, everything just transcends," he says. "We have so many, 'What if this? What if that?' So many questions and answers that give you so much information about the show. It's a collaboration."

Delving into his relationship to the character, Nelson says, "Playing MJ in two-thirds of his life, it's definitely transcending. You go through the different versions of how he started to find his own voice, how he started to be his own artist and drift away from being with his family. Even though he loved his family dearly, he had a calling that he wanted to do something bigger in his life with his artistry and his soul."

Referring to portraying Jackson at two different stages of his life, Nelson shares, "Playing Michael, especially the process of Middle Michael, you get to have so much fun. It's that young innocence. It's Michael finding his own way, his style. Once you get to MJ, that's the peak. There's a different style and there's a different level of humility because it's super different, but they're both really fun. It's super challenging, especially me being young. I have to shift myself into being a 30-year-old man. You have to just really do a lot of table work and a lot of scene work and try to figure out how you can display Michael Jackson, have the audience believe this essence. It's not about impersonating; it's about having the essence of Michael."

Speaking to the show's profound impact on fans of the late musician, Nelson says, "Anytime you go out to the stage door and you see supporters of the show, fans of Michael Jackson's music and his legacy, there's always those supporters who get very emotional. Because it brings them back to when they were watching Michael live in person. To hear how they felt and how this experience brought them back in time, that's one of the best feelings."

Of the younger fans, Nelson adds: "Seeing the little kids in the audience with the glove and wanting to do all these MJ moves that I once did—and now I'm able to do these moves all the time—you always see that little kid inside of you. And anytime I see a kid, I see myself, no matter who it is."

The Broadway Show's new Five Inside series highlights the individuals who help bring Broadway's long-running shows to life, both onstage and off.

GET TO KNOW THE MJ FAMILY
The Star: Matte Martinez | The Debut: Samuel Nelson III | The Long-Runner: Apollo Levine | The Creative Engine: Global Associate Director Dontee Kiehn | The Backstage MVP: Global Associate Costume Designer Christine Meyers

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