Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – An innovative new show unlike any seen in Puerto Vallarta before has been designed for the beginning of Season 7 at Act2PV – “MJ Live” – a tribute to the iconic recording artist, Michael Jackson.
Discovered in Gary, Indiana in 1968, he signed with Motown Records with his four brothers and became The Jackson 5. Michael not only sang and danced his way into notoriety, but he also created unique images and footwork admired by his millions of followers and influenced countless up and coming artists. He is widely considered the “King of Pop.”
Act2PV’s highly-anticipated “MJ Live” show opened on October 31, with award-winning Michael Jackson impersonator, José Martínez, singing some of the vocals backed by specially-designed background tracks. His ‘whoops!’ were exactly as Michael expressed them onstage. Impressive immediately is José’s ability to flail his legs, feet, arms and hands while dancing. Each posed movement was like a photograph. He is the embodiment of Michael Jackson.
Six black-clad dancers occupied the stage to Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ and they certainly did! Out came Michael to huge cheers sporting black, silver and a shiny blue jacket. This is Michael Jackson, or so the audience thought, as he sped through hard-hitting popular songs as Dangerous and Dirty Diana. Seen throughout Smooth Criminal was his trademark Moonwalk which has been described as an anti-gravity lean. Two dancers carried out an acrobatic table, where a suave couple performed incredible upside-down leg and arm splits.
The pace was slowed for I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, a heartfelt composition of his own. Soft flowing dancers with cloth wafting in the breeze accompanied him. Bold beats returned with The Way You Make Me Feel and the ever-popular Beat It, creating an energy that exuded from the stage throughout the night.
Black, white and silver are the production theme colors, so obviously Black Or White was presented in song and synchronized movements. The group’s choreography team gave a supremely fashionable show of dancing and artistic arrangements, constantly thrilling with dips, slides, jumps and twirls.
Act2PV then brought out ‘The Jackson 5,’ in tribute to the young group that featured a very young Michael as lead singer and his four brothers, who signed with Motown in 1968 and quickly blasted onto the Pop charts. This tribute group performed a medley of dance tunes such as I Want You Back, Can You Feel It and The Love You Save. ‘Michael’ sang solo on his promising I’ll Be There, and an astounding rendition of Billie Jean featured the ‘gloved one’ strutting his moves with trademark rhythms. Tonight’s creative spectacle continued with favorites such as Man In The Mirror and Remember The Time, both performed exceedingly well by the entire cast of talented dancers.
Human Nature softened the mood with soft flowing pale blue costumes, but was shattered quickly by Zombies, the living dead, dancing across the stage to Thriller with even Vincent Price’s voice in the background. This Halloween night’s ghoulish images excited, but also scared, some of the costumed guests. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough applied to both the performers and the audience.
This tremendous show will surely bring followers of music and dancing back to Act2PV for encores with their friends and family. “MJ Live” takes the Act2PV Main Stage every Sunday at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available online at Act2PV.com.
BN Editor’s note: For more Puerto Vallarta show reviews, visit Gary’s More of Beck’s Best: Theater, Cabaret and More! page on Facebook.
Tickets to all shows can be purchased online at Act2PV.com, or at the box office, which is open daily from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.
The Act2PV Entertainment complex is located on the corner of Insurgentes and Basilio Badillo on the South side of Puerto Vallarta. For more information, call (322) 222-1512, or follow Act II on Facebook. Click HERE to see what else is playing at Act2PV.