BREAKING: Ephraim Sykes Will Play Michael Jackson in MJ on Broadway

Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes will star as Michael Jackson in the upcoming Broadway World Premiere of MJ the Musical. MJ will begin preview performances on Monday, July 6, 2020, at the Neil Simon Theatre. Opening night is set for Thursday evening, August 13, 2020, at 6:30 p.m.

Currently on Broadway in the smash hit musical Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations, Mr. Sykes was Tony Award-nominated for his thrilling, microphone-flying performance as Motown recording artist David Ruffin. He also received the Chita Rivera Award, a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, a Theater Bay Area Award, the Helen Hayes Award, and The Actors' Equity Clarence Derwent Award. Just yesterday, he received a 2020 Grammy Award nomination as a principal artist on the Original Cast Recording of Ain't Too Proud.

MJ The Musical will feature a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score made up of some of the best-loved, top-selling songs in recording history. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph.

Mr. Wheeldon stated, "Ephraim Sykes is a bonafide triple threat, and dynamic rising star on Broadway. I am honored to be working with him on this exciting new production."

Tickets for MJ the Musical will go on sale on January 15, 2020, at 10 a.m. To sign-up for priority ticket access, go to MJTheMusical.com.

Ephraim Sykes currently stars as David Ruffin in Broadway's Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations. For this role he earned a Tony nomination, a Chita Rivera Award, the Helen Hayes Award, the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, Theater Bay Area Award, The Actors' Equity Clarence Derwent Award, and nominations from the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle. Sykes also starred as Ruffin in the World Premiere of Ain't Too Proud -- The Life And Times of The Temptations at Berkeley Rep.

Sykes was last seen on screen as "Seaweed J. Stubbs" in NBC's "Hairspray Live!" His Broadway credits include: Hamilton: An American Musical (OBC), Memphis (OBC), Newsies (OBC), Motown (OBC), and The Little Mermaid. Additional TV/Film credits include: "Marvin" on "Vinyl," "Luke Cage," "Smash," "30 Rock," Leave It On The Floor, Woody Allen's Crisis in Six Scenes, and Detroit directed by Katheryn Bigelow. A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Ephraim graduated from the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University BFA program with departmental honors and toured with the Ailey II Company for two years.