Ilario Grant Returns to Broadway as the King of Pop in MJ

Ilario Grant will return to MJ on Broadway in the title role after making his Broadway debut as a standby for MJ and Michael. He will begin performances on September 15 at the Neil Simon Theatre. Matte Martinez will play his final performance as MJ on September August 30.

Grant previously starred as MJ in the Australian touring production of MJ. His screen credits include Praise This and Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living. Grant is also an R&B artist and a former member of the group Afterhours.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Ilario back to New York to star as MJ,” said Tony-winning director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon in a statement. “Having risen through this company and gone on to dazzle audiences as MJ in Australia, Ilario takes his rightful place on Broadway, bringing audiences his stunning interpretation of the King of Pop.”

The current Broadway cast of MJ features Martinez as MJ, Apollo Levine as Rob/Joseph Jackson, Brandon Lee Harris as Michael, Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. and Jackon Robert Vann as Little Michael, Blake Channing Taylor as Little Marlon, Sasha Allen as Katherine Jackson, Matthew Freerick Harris as Quincy Jones/Tito Jackson, Rebecca Faulkenberry as Rachel, Gabriel Ruiz as Alejandro, Antoine L. Smith as Nick/Berry Gordy and Joey Sorge as Dave with Lloyd A. Boyd III, Kellie Drobnick, John Edwards, Aydin Eyikan, Josh Jordan, Cheslea Mitchell-Bonsu, Sarah Sigman, Ryan VanDenBoom and Brion Marquis Watson rounding out the ensemble.

Directed and choreographed by Wheeldon, with a book written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, MJ is the winner of four 2022 Tony Awards.

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