Thriller Live is heading into its 6th year in London's West End and has recently been making its way around Australia and now New Zealand for a short run until the 22nd.

I attended the opening night last night and although there were a few ups and downs in the beginning, overall it was enjoyable! Thriller Live is of course a celebration of the King of Pop's work from the Jackson 5 to Michael's solo career. As the show is more of a tribute/concert it was a little hard to get into it at first because it was a journey through Michael's different music styles with different vocalists singing different songs rather than a biography with one person playing Michael. 

The first hour of the show was a little underwhelming. While i was in London i went to a West End celebration at Trafalgar Square where there are brief performances from West End musicals. Thriller Live picked a Jackson 5 number and i was really impressed with the kids that were cast to play the brothers. However the kids aren't part of the cast down under which is a real shame, i think they would have really wowed the audience and made the opening extra special. After a little crowd participation the audience were starting to loosen up and get into the groove. But just as things were heating up the atmosphere died down and it continued to go up and down until the end of the first half where we were only just starting to get a taste of bigger and better things to come in the second half.

The show really does save the best till last but it is well worth it! The last half an hour of epicness kicked off with 'P.Y.T' followed by stand out performances of 'Beat It', 'Smooth Criminal', 'Man in the Mirror', 'They Don't Care About Us', and 'Earth Song'. The show is packed with all of MJ's biggest hits, but i was disappointed that 'You Are Not Alone' and 'Remember the Time' were left out.

Besides a few dancers not putting in as much effort into the choreography as others during some songs, the cast were fantastic. All the notes were hit every time and Sean Christopher was mesmerising as the main MJ dancer (and one of the lead vocalists), particularly during 'Smooth Criminal'. Alex Buchanan was my personal favourite lead vocalist, he is scarily good at what he does, at times i thought i was listening to the real MJ singing live in front of me.

Half way through i wasn't too sure if i made the right decision to go but at the end of the night i left feeling satisfied. Thriller Live won't be everyones cup of tea but as a huge Michael Jackson fan i loved watching this tribute to one of the greatest performers of all time. It's an emotional reminder of just how great he truly was and that there will never be anyone like him again, but his legacy will live on.

Thriller Live runs until Sunday February 22nd at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, NZ.
Tickets are still available from www.ticketmaster.co.nz

K.
x