Ilario Grant Returns to MJ on Broadway in the Title Role

Ilario Grant will assume the titular role of MJ in the musical MJ at the Neil Simon Theatre. Grant, who made his Broadway debut as a standby for the roles of MJ and Michael in 2023, will begin performances on September 15, succeeding Matte Martinez, who will play his final performance on August 30.

Grant also played MJ in Australia, opening the Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth productions.

The current cast also features Apollo Levine as Rob/Joseph Jackson, Brandon Lee Harris as Michael, Christopher Sean Cooper Jr and Jackon Robert Vann as Little Michael, Blake Channing Taylor as Little Marlon, Sasha Allen as Katherine Jackson, Matthew Frederick Harris as Quincy Jones/Tito Jackson, Rebecca Faulkenberry as Rachel, Gabriel Ruiz as Alejandro, Antoine L. Smith as Nick/Berry Gordy, and Joey Sorge as Dave.

The ensemble includes Lloyd A. Boyd III, Kellie Drobnick, John Edwards, Aydin Eyikan, Josh Jordan, Cheslea Mitchell-Bonsu, Sarah Sigman, Ryan VanDenBoom, and Brion Marquis Watson. Melvin Gray Jr., Sage Lee, Samuel Nelson III, and Jayden K. White are the standbys for MJ and Michael. Carole Denise Jones and Nyla Sostre are the standbys for Rachel and Katherine. Swings for the production include Blu Allen, Dasia Amos, Kyle DuPree, Tré Frazier, Chantelle Good, Michael Harmon, Skye Jackson-Williams, Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, and Zion Mikhail Pradier.