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[0:00] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:14] Robert Bannon: Hey, Broadway family. How you doing, PPN fam? Hi, Roundtablers. My name is Robert Bannon. You're here on a very special edition of The Roundtable, and I'm going to give you this little personal anecdote so you know what's going on here.

[0:29] Robert Bannon: As you may know, two months ago, I have moved to Detroit. That's right. I get married in May to a true Detroiter, and he is out here, and I've started a job out here teaching, and I have been living my Detroit life after living 40 years in New Jersey.

[0:44] Robert Bannon: I will forever be in New Jersey, and I rep hard for New Jersey, but I hope to be able to be adopted into the Detroit family as well. So a lot of the interviews you see, sometimes I talk about Broadway and Detroit.

[0:55] Robert Bannon: Yeah, because I've learned after being so spoiled being so close to Broadway my whole life that there are amazing places to see theater around this country, and many of you, many of you theater nistas who might be listening and watching, come from around the country and get your best Broadway news, buzz, and interviews from our show.

[1:11] Robert Bannon: You save all your money to go to New York to see Broadway shows, and when shows come into your city, you get the fam together, and you come out and show love. So I've been learning that culture because I've never had that culture because I've always lived one mile from New York City.

[1:25] Robert Bannon: So it's been really fun to be able to partner with Broadway in Detroit, but still be able to do Broadway openings, still be able to have the best of Broadway on the show, still be able to have TV stars, movie stars, and stars of music come on as well.

[1:37] Robert Bannon: So I've been living the best life, y'all, of both worlds, and when MJ was coming to Detroit to the Fisher Theater, I just knew that it was going to be something that blows the roof off of this city.

[1:49] Robert Bannon: Michael Jackson signed to Motown with his brothers, with his father, orchestrating the deal. The Motown Mansion, which is about a mile and a half from where I live, is the stage that they practice their dance routines, and then of course Hitsville, USA, the famous blue building, which is now a museum, which is a national landmark, which is gorgeous, by the way, with a giant expansion on the way, is where they signed their deal and recorded their early records.

[2:17] Robert Bannon: All of that right here in the city. Motown is literally blocks from the Fisher Theater where this show is going to be, so just picture the energy, the electricity that's going to be in this city. All the cities are important, all the stops are important, all the shows are important, but sometimes a spot and a stop and a show has just a special little place in its heart, and MJ is definitely going to give that.

[2:41] Robert Bannon: We had the chance to actually go stand on the steps of Hitsville, USA, where Diana and Smokey and Stevie and the Tops and the Temps and Marvin and the Marvelettes and all of these amazing acts, Tammy and etc., and the Jacksons, had the chance to record some of their most famous songs and where very gorgeous offices were. I hope you can come to Detroit and see it. It's a pretty city. They say Detroit's the new New York, y'all, so you better watch out.

[3:09] Robert Bannon: We had the chance to see not only one or two, but three incredible artists joined us on the show, and I was so excited to have them all because, you know, we love the more the merrier on this mess, and not only did we have the cast here, but we literally got the chance to do it in front of, can I say it again?

[3:33] Robert Bannon: So Jamaal Fields-Green, who plays Michael Jackson, who's a superstar who did it on Broadway, is here. Devin Bowles, who's making his tour debut playing Joe Jackson, a complicated character to play because Joe is brilliant and ruthless. And then Josh A. Dawson is another Broadway nista who plays Tito Jackson, who we know we just lost, and he gets to honor Tito every single night while doing this show.

[3:54] Robert Bannon: I had such a good time, such a grateful moment to spend. It was me and all the news of Detroit, and I was like, what am I doing here? And Levi Stubbs, of Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, his son, who hosts a show over at the Motown Museum on SiriusXM, he was there as well to do interviews, and then little old Robert Bannon.

[4:18] Robert Bannon: So if you want to see this, you can always go to the YouTube video or my social media at RobertMBannon, and if you're in Detroit, get tickets at BroadwayInDetroit.com or go to MJTheMusical.com to see when it's coming to your neck of the woods. Here's the jokes and the folks that are MJ the Musical on the roundtable, live from Hitsville, USA, in Detroit, Michigan.

[4:39] Robert Bannon: Welcome. The New York is in the house. I moved here two months ago, and I want to say that Broadway in Detroit has some of the best theater that comes through, like this show. I can't go to a gas station without them talking about this show. How does it feel to be here in Detroit?

[4:54] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's exhilarating. It's ecstatic. Bringing this show for the first time, First National, to Detroit, the inception, the origin of Motown. It's an honor. It's a privilege to pay homage to these icons.

[5:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's exciting. I grew up on Motown. The Temptations are my grandfather's favorite group. The Supremes are my grandmother's. I'm a big MJ fan. Sam Cooke's one of my favorite artists of all time. So I'm a happy nerd right now, to say the least.

[5:27] Jamaal Fields-Green: Detroit feels like a little piece of home. I think home for all of us as musicians, as artists. We get to honor these incredible artists, icons, like you said. It just feels great. We're really lucky to be here.

[5:40] Robert Bannon: Well, the city's ready. I have a question for you. You play Joe Jackson. Everyone knows the story of the Jacksons, and this show is done. Lynn wrote such a great book, because it's a throwback, it's a flashback. Joe's a complicated character in the story, so how do you show his genius with the good and the bad and all the sides?

[6:01] Devin Bowles: Well, starting off, Joe was a human first. Joe was a man who had a dream, who had an opportunity to take his kids to the next level. In his mind, in his mentality, he was going to do everything he could to do that, to make sure that that was happening.

[6:13] Devin Bowles: When he brought his kids through these doors, he knew ahead of time the legends that they could be, and that came to reality. Joe had an influential impact on Michael's legacy, his work ethic, his drive. Not only do we see that in the show, we see the effects of it. We see how hard Michael was on himself, and we see the ambition, the self-discipline, the consistency in which Michael carried through his whole career.

[6:36] Devin Bowles: That's why we have the greatness of Michael Jackson we have today. Playing is fun. I love being a storyteller. I love acting, and having that opportunity to carry that responsibility every night is thrilling to me. It's fun. Thrilling, thrilling, it's fun.

[6:50] Robert Bannon: Hey, I got it. Devin, this is your first national tour?

[6:52] Devin Bowles: First national tour. Let's go! Come on! It's so wild. First time, and the bar could not have been set more perfectly for myself. So much lessons, so much growth, and I'm excited to keep going, keep bettering myself.

[7:10] Robert Bannon: Jamal, I don't know how you're awake right now. I'm in awe of what you do on stage, sweating through sequins every single night, literally. Doing it on Broadway is one thing, where you get to go home, but how do you take care of yourself? You're in a hotel room, you're on a plane, you're on a bus. How do you take care of you?

[7:27] Jamaal Fields-Green: A lot of many things. For one, this is one that most people don't expect. I play a lot of video games in my off time. A lot of down time, but I do a lot of stuff vocally. I work with a vocal trainer twice a week. I work with a personal trainer twice a week for my physical regimen. I had a nutritionist that I worked with for a specific diet.

[7:51] Jamaal Fields-Green: In terms of keeping myself healthy, I limit myself in terms of talking sometimes. A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of hot water, lemon, and honey, and a lot of cough drops, specifically lemon flavored cough drops. I actually usually don't try this at home, kids, but I perfected this in college, and I actually perform every show with a cough drop under my tongue, just to make sure that my throat is lubricated at all times.

[8:22] Robert Bannon: What? Really?

[8:25] Jamaal Fields-Green: Don't try it at home.

[8:28] Robert Bannon: I don't want to get in trouble.

[8:30] Robert Bannon: That's amazing. I'm fascinated by your own journey, because you're a filmmaker, and you're a recording artist in and of yourself, and then you do this, and you differentiate your career. Y'all are, come on now, come on, why are you not out here and get your tickets?

[8:45] Robert Bannon: Josh, out here on the road playing Quincy Jones, what's it like with Tito Jackson, what just happened with Tito Jackson, and now you get to carry on his legacy, and what part he was of the brothers.

[8:59] Josh A. Dawson: Sure, what a rare opportunity to be able to play such an iconic character, both while they're living on this plane, and while they've transitioned.

[9:08] Josh A. Dawson: To be able to give him his flowers, and to be able to embody him, and find that common denominator between the two of us, I feel very blessed.

[9:19] Josh A. Dawson: The show, right after he transitioned, we got to honor him on stage, and it just was a really, really sweet moment that I feel exceptionally connected to him and his work, and I'm very, very thankful to be back here.

[9:30] Robert Bannon: Well, you play Quincy, you play Tito, and if you've seen television, you've watched Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, he played Harry Belafonte, so you play legends, come on, legends, book him for the legends, legends, legends.

[9:42] Josh A. Dawson: Now, when you see this show, if you've seen this show before, this is like a very audience, this is not masterpiece theater, people are singing, and dancing, and clapping, and yelling back, and screaming.

[9:53] Josh A. Dawson: The second you come out and you open that show, and the second you hit that first pose, pop, this place is gonna go nuts.

[10:00] Robert Bannon: So what's that energy like when you're on stage for all of you?

[10:03] Josh A. Dawson: MJ is a beast of a show, you know what I'm saying? We have structured, Lynn Nottage and all of our wonderful creators have structured something that when we start, it's a bullet.

[10:14] Josh A. Dawson: Once it fires, it does not stop, but when it does stop, it gives you a chance to see Michael's heart, his humanity.

[10:21] Josh A. Dawson: We have the choreo, we have the music, we have the fashion, we have his iconicness, but something special about this show is we really take the time to say, hey, we're taking what you know, and we're expanding on it.

[10:30] Josh A. Dawson: We're really diving into what makes Michael tick, his artistry, what makes him bolt into energy, and in Detroit, knowing that they have that sense of authenticity with Motown, it's gonna be so special.

[10:44] Josh A. Dawson: The energy, the reactions, the memories, the nostalgia, people are gonna fully be able to detach and just enjoy, and it's gonna be great.

[10:53] Jamaal Fields-Green: For me, like you said, we're in Detroit, Motown, the home of Motown. For me, it's really just come and see how we are gonna pay homage to these legends, to these greats.

[11:06] Jamaal Fields-Green: But for me, it's exhilarating. Walking out, of course, it's enticing a bit, walking out and having the crowds' reactions, especially during these iconic numbers and these well-known pieces and stuff and these well-known dances.

[11:18] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's a big responsibility, but I love it, and I respect Michael so much, and his legacy is in our hands for that duration of the time while we do the show.

[11:29] Jamaal Fields-Green: And what I love about this show is that none of us take it for granted, and like kind of what Devin said, this show is hard for everyone, everyone, and we're all just doing the best that we can, but also having fun while we do it, and it's Michael Jackson, man.

[11:42] Robert Bannon: It doesn't get any better than that. You get to be a part of the brothers, and the scene is so good when you throw back and you think Jackson 5, and you're in the Motown mansion, which has got the stage where the boys learned how to dance, which is right in the Boston-Edison part of the city.

[11:57] Robert Bannon: What is it like when those songs hit and you're on stage? What's it like when you hear it?

[12:00] Josh A. Dawson: Sure. I mean, it's just, it feels like I am connected to ancestry in that moment. I feel like I am connected to everything that made me as an artist, these individuals as an artist, and there's a sense of power, there's a sense of grace, a sense of responsibility that I have simultaneously in that moment.

[12:22] Josh A. Dawson: It just feels like I'm saying thank you. I'm saying thank you to these incredible artists that have given us so much, and I think what is so rare about being in Detroit is that Detroit is a part of our musical as well, right?

[12:36] Josh A. Dawson: Anytime Motown is mentioned ever, Detroit is a part of the story, and so we get to say thank you to this city for giving Motown so much, which then in turn gave us so much.

[12:48] Robert Bannon: Well, you're in Detroit. I'm only here two months, so you got to get a Coney Dog. I don't know what I'll get, a Faygo soda?

[12:54] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's Detroit, y'all, and they're here, and they're going to be here, and they're here until November 3rd, so you better get your tickets. There's not a lot of tickets left. You're selling out the Fisher Theater from the top to the bottom.

[13:04] Robert Bannon: It is the best opening. The opening is electric, and if it's Halloween time and you want to bring your kids to see Thriller done on stage, it's so epic, so we are so ready and so excited for y'all. Welcome. Congratulations.

[13:18] Robert Bannon: I'll be there opening night, so we're here. Let's go get your tickets. Let's go.

[13:23] Robert Bannon: Can we do a quick intro for social media to just say, I'm not going to make you dance. You don't want to see me dance.

[13:30] Robert Bannon: All right, is it recording still? On the round table tonight, the cast of MJ the Tour is coming to Detroit. I'm not dancing because I can't even clap on the two and four.

[13:41] Jamaal Fields-Green: Come on, now.

[13:42] Robert Bannon: But I want to like, bump, bump, bump. I could do that.

[13:49] Robert Bannon: All right, I'm almost ready for church. I'm ready for MJ the Musical. Come and watch tonight and come on down to the Fisher Theater.

[14:00] Robert Bannon: We'll see you there.