He is where the hit movie “Wicked” and pop superstar Michael Jackson intersect.
Paul Tazewell came up with the “Wicked” wardrobe, winning the Academy Award for his efforts earlier this month.
He also designed the looks in “MJ the Musical,” which is coming to South Florida twice — with the Broadway national tour playing Miami’s Arsht Center from March 18-23 then Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Center on April 8-20.
This jukebox musical about the King of Pop won four Tony Awards after Broadway previews in December 2021 and a grand opening in February 2022, going on to become a box-office juggernaut.
The show is centered around the Motown Moonwalker preparing for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour and shines a spotlight on 26 of his signature hits, stretching from his early Jackson 5 days (and 1978 cinematic turn in “The Wiz”) to global greatness with his solo albums. You’ll get toe-tappers such as “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “The Love You Save,” “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Paul Tazewell won the Academy Award for best costume design for “Wicked” on March 2, 2025. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Courtesy)
As for Tazewell, he also has a Tony Award for costuming “Hamilton” and an Emmy for the NBC broadcast of “The Wiz Live!” He’s designed for Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” as well as some of the Great White Way’s greatest hits such as “In the Heights,” “The Color Purple,” “Memphis,” “Suffs” and “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk.” His designs have also adorned performers at The Metropolitan Opera, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Public Theater and English National Opera.
Below, learn more about the costumes in “MJ the Musical” from a Q&A session with Tazewell that’s been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: So, where in your home do you keep your Academy Award?
A: It’s still up for debate where its final place of honor will be, but it’s currently in my living room so I can gaze at it.
Q: How do you balance adding your own design to such iconic Michael Jackson looks?
A: I think it’s always a challenge reimagining something that is already set in people’s minds … to honor the original designs. I did a lot of studying of Michael Jackson’s looks through the years and the different designers that worked with him on different looks. My focus was to tell the story that is within the script. I’m less about doing a docudrama, and more about bringing forth the emotional story that was being written with the piece. So with that, I went to looks that served the story specifically … some of those moments, like the Grammy jacket or the Thriller jacket, those need to be recreated in a very specific way. I was looking at the actual garments to figure out how to create those, or how to recreate them, as well as how the show ends with the look from The Dangerous Tour — that look is very specific. I think that the driving force is always the emotional impact and how to draw the audience into the story.
“I was one of four boys growing up. We would play The Jackson 5 albums and play out those songs. We were The Jackson 4 basically.” — Paul Tazewell
Matthew Murphy
The Broadway national tour of “MJ the Musical” arrives in Miami in March and Fort Lauderdale in April. (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)
Q: Was it tricky getting all of that to work in the context of a live show and of the mechanics that kind of production calls for?
A: The other looks or the other costume elements, partly because of how the script is written, things needed to flow as smoothly as possible from transition through transition. So, you know, how those garments are created is very specific, so that they go on and off quite easily, how they work together within the scene and the other characters. There’s a lot of thought that goes into what people use.
Q: What about you personally? Did The Jackson 5 resonate with you in your childhood back in Akron, Ohio?
A: I was one of four boys growing up. We would play The Jackson 5 albums and play out those songs. We were The Jackson 4 basically. That all comes from a formative part of my life. They were everything. I think being able to live in it, or having lived those styles … that fashion, and also that is specific to African American culture, and how the community dresses themselves as a response to what was going on. I think being able to explore that is really exciting. My process tends to be visceral, like how I relate to different images, and that’s just what it comes from — my experience, and how I remember feeling when … seeing some of this style.
Q: Is there a costume moment in “MJ the Musical” that you just love every time you see it?
A: I love the top of Act 2, the whole series where Michael is talking about his influences, those performers that influenced his style: Fred Astaire, the Nicholas Brothers, Fosse. It’s a big dance number. How all of that evolved and how it pays off with the scenery and the graphics and the costuming that all came together in a very dramatic way, I really love that moment. The other is the Thriller finale. It is Michael Jackson coming to terms with … how he presents himself. It’s a dark look at that, because we’ve got all of these representations of him … just his internal struggle.
Matthew Murphy
The Jackson 5 represented in a production of “MJ the Musical.” (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)
Q: Any upcoming projects you can talk about?
A: I’m working with Spielberg for the second time. That’s about all I can say. We’re in the middle of filming.
Q: Regarding the next “Wicked” film — “Wicked: For Good” — any costumes that will give fashionistas a glam-gasm?
A: It ramps up from where we were in [the first] “Wicked.” I’m very excited for people to experience what I’ve designed for “Wicked 2.” You’ll have to wait, but I assure you, it doesn’t disappoint.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “MJ the Musical”
WHEN/WHERE:
COST:
- Arsht Center: $49-$199
- Broward Center: $51-$229
INFORMATION:
Matthew Murphy
Jordan Markus as MJ with the cast of “MJ the Musical.” (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)
Matthew Murphy
Brandon Lee Harris (center) as Michael with the cast of “MJ the Musical.” (Matthew Murphy/Courtesy)
Originally Published: