USF Theatre Alumnus Quentin Darrington ’04 Starring in Broadway Smash Hit, "MJ the Musical"
USF Theatre Alumnus Quentin Darrington ’04 is back on Broadway starring in MJ the Musical, which has received 10 Tony Award® Nominations including one for Best Musical.
Quentin Earl Darrington and Myles Frost appear in MJ on Broadway.
(© Matthew Murphy)
Michael Jackson’s unique and unparalleled artistry can be seen in this brand-new musical at the Neil Simon Theatre. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and produced in arrangement with the Michael Jackson estate, MJ the Musical depicts the rehearsal process for Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous” world tour. Tony Award®-winning Director/Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon brings MJ beyond the highly recognizable moves and distinct sounds of the artist to offer an inside glimpse into the creative genius and collaborative effort that launched Jackson from talented young singer to international superstar.
Darrington has two roles in this thrilling musical—Rob, who is MJ's right-hand man, and Joseph, Michael's father. Sometimes, Darrington shifts gears from one character to the other in the same scene. As Rob, he is worried about Jackson working himself and the dancers too hard, and he also notices when the superstar starts taking too many pills. But as Darrington transforms to Joseph, he becomes much more intense—instilling in his sons the harsh realities of the world through his dictatorial behavior while serving as the business adviser and manager of the Jackson 5.
“Art is very complicated,” Quentin Earl Darrington, who plays the roles of Rob and Joe Jackson in the musical, told Variety on the red carpet. “I pray that for every piece of theater that you see—whether it’s ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘MJ The Musical,’ or ‘The Music Man’—that you can find yourself in the story being told. You can grapple, wrestle, be enlightened, be intrigued, be mystified by how you fit in the context of life being displayed before you.”
“Bring your open eyes,” he said. “Bring your humanity. Bring your awareness. Bring your pain. Bring your doubt. Bring your fears. It doesn’t matter. Bring all of you to the theater.”
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