It has just been announced that MJ The Musical in Sydney will close on Saturday, 23 August.
Final shows have been released, with pre-sales now available HERE.
The Sydney production only opened on 26 February this year and will have run for just less than six months.
Of all the productions of this musical, this is the first to close. Some speculate that the Australian market may not have been as receptive, leading to lower ticket sales.
Update 10/05/2025: However, multiple fans have contacted us to say that it was always the plan to end the musical at this time, as another production has been scheduled to take over the theatre. They also noted that MJ The Musical has been a success during its Sydney run. Charlie Carter, part of THE MJ Cast, wrote an article rumoured that the Musical might also moved to Melbourne.
I can tell you that from the two shows I attended last week, and the sheer number of people who are not your typical MJ fan that have attended and given positive feedback, ticket sales have not been lower than anticipated and the show is not being cut short.
Indeed, it was extended. The original run was supposed to be Feb-May, and was extended to August when there is a hard stop as the theatre will need to be configured for Back To The Future which begins its own run in September. The musical has received incredibly positive feedback from everyone I know that as been to see it, and although some media use it as an opportunity to drag the man, their reviews of the show itself are generally positive too.
The Australian musical-loving public is not the same as you would get in New York or London – and so to paint the Australians in a way that suggests they simply weren’t interested enough in the show for it to continue is a little unfair. They HAVE to leave this theatre in late August to make way for another, though it would have been nice and potentially more of a fanfare to hold the final show on 29th August for Michael Jackson’s birthday.
Fans have travelled from all over Australia (and New Zealand) to see it – I personally know people from Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and beyond that have made the trip to see it. Demand is definitely there – theatre space at the Lyric is not.
Hope this sheds some light on the situation for you.
Charlie Carter of The MJCast