The estate of Michael Jackson is pulling the plug on the test-run of a musical surrounding the singer's life, The New York Times reports. The singer's estate and their partner in producing the musical, Columbia Live Stage, are now plotting to take the production straight to Broadway in the summer of 2020.
The announcement that they're cutting the Chicago test-run of Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough comes two weeks ahead of HBO's premiere of Leaving Neverland -- a documentary focused on the accounts of two men who claim they were molested by Jackson. However, the producers insist their reasoning behind canceling the test-run has nothing to do with Leaving Neverland. They said that their decision was based on “scheduling difficulties” surrounding labor dispute. A strike by Actors’ Equity played a factor in the postponement of the show and the show. They plan to have another workshop in New York this fall.
The musical is focused on Jackson's life and career before 1992 which is around the time when his issues with painkillers and the allegations of molesting children first emerged.
Jackson's niece, Brandi, recently spoke out against the allegations made by one of the men in Leaving Neverland. She claimed that Wade Robson was her boyfriend for seven years at one point who cheated on her with Britney Spears, ultimately causing the pop singers highly publicized break up with Justin Timberlake. She also claimed that MJ was the one that introduced them at first and said Robson is a Jackson family "opportunist."