Roman Banks, star of 'MJ: The Musical,' talks about playing Michael Jackson (2024)

Roman Banks takes playing pop icon Michael Jackson seriously. He’s been playing the King of Pop in the touring production of “MJ: the Musical” since August, but still regularly goes back to his source material.

“On a nightly basis, I’ll probably watch any of (Jackson’s) concerts or music videos, or maybe select interviews,” Banks says. “They’re going to put me in the headspace of where his energy is at and allow me to replicate that on stage in the most authentic way.”

“MJ: The Musical”features 37 of Jackson’s greatest hits and follows him as he gets ready for the Dangerous Tour in 1992. An MTV Video crew is making a documentary about him, thus prompting Jackson to reminisce about his life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage wrote the book, while Christopher Wheeldon directed and choreographed the show, which re-creates Jackson’s famous dance moves. Plus, designer Paul Tazewell faithfully reconstructed many of Jackson’s iconic costumes.

For fans of Michael Jackson it might be a relief that almost none of Jackson’s controversies (his nose, his fading skin color, the pedophilia charges) get talked about. The show is almost entirely focused on Jackson as a performer and artist, though it does touch on early abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.

This is Banks’ first touring production, and it’s been an adjustment for him.

“I’ve never had an experience like this. I think I’m not inherently nomadic,” the 25-year-old says with a laugh.

Banks has already starred on Broadway, appeared on TV and was in a livestreamed TikTok musical. Not bad considering Banks only really became interested in musicals after seeing “Hamilton” when he was a junior in high school.

“I had never felt the way that piece of art made me feel. I wasn’t a history fan. I wasn’t really a musical theater fan, and all of the sudden, it made me interested in both because I felt like I had a part in it for the first time.”

He went to college at Shenandoah Conservatory and, when he was a freshman, rode up to New York with a classmate for an open audition for “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway.

“We waited in line for like three and a half hours and then go in and sing for 30 seconds,” Banks says. “Then we both got callbacks the next day.”

Banks served as an understudy from 2018 to 2020 and became the first Black actor to play Evan Hansen. Jordan Fisher became the first full-time Black actor to play Evan Hansen in 2021.

After his Broadway debut, Banks tried his hand at television, appearing in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” season 2 as Howie.

“It was really hard because it was the pandemic,” Banks recalls. “We were getting cotton swabs shoved up our noses every single day, and wearing masks. And because we were visiting from out of town, the cast was in a bubble. So it was hard to hang out with them and get to know people around me.”

But he says he learned a lot about being on TV.

By this point, too, Banks had already encountered “MJ: The Musical.” He had auditioned for the role of Middle Michael, the actor who portrays Michael from the time he left the Jackson 5, the group he was in with his brothers as a boy, until he releases his “Off the Wall” album.

Banks got the part, but turned it down in favor of doing “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.”

When he heard about auditions for the touring production, he jumped at it, though it turned out to be a difficult audition process that included a boot camp with four other actors, according to People magazine.

Now though, Banks is the production’s lead and says that replicating Jackson’s dance moves is the hardest part.

“I didn’t grow up trained in dance,” he says. “I grew up dancing in my living room. So it was really hard to learn a lot of choreography and just the style of Michael in general because it’s so singular. But we have an incredible creative team that would not allow us to fail, and now I’m able to do it six times a week.”

Banks also has a favorite Jackson song, “Man in the Mirror.”

“I think it’s a really profound message that change starts with yourself,” Banks says. “I don’t think that song will every feel outdated because the message is so universal.”

And watching videos of Jackson every night keeps Banks motivated. “It’s just a great way to check in and remember why I’m doing what I’m doing, and what people are expecting.”

A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Shenandoah Conservatory. We sincerely regret the error.