Original MJ Star Tavon Olds-Sample to Depart Broadway Production, Brandon Lee Harris to Take Over

Broadway’s MJ is preparing for a major cast change this summer, with original star Tavon Olds-Sample set to leave the production after more than 2,000 performances in the role of Michael. His final performance is scheduled for 31 May at the Neil Simon Theatre.

Olds-Sample has been with the Tony Award-winning musical since its Broadway beginnings, originating the role in 2021 and helping shape one of the production’s most recognisable performances. His departure marks the end of a significant chapter for the hit show, which continues to be one of Broadway’s major long-running musical successes.

Stepping into the role next will be Brandon Lee Harris, who is set to return to the Broadway company from 7 July. Harris previously originated the role of Michael in the first national tour and has also appeared with the Broadway production before, making his return a familiar and well-established succession for the show.

In the period between Olds-Sample’s departure and Harris’s Broadway return, the role of Michael will be covered by the production’s understudies and swings. Reported performers set to take on the role in the interim include Brett Gray, Samuel Nelson III, Jayden K. White and Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, ensuring the production continues without interruption during the transition.

The current Broadway company is led by Matte Martinez in the title role of Michael Jackson, with the musical continuing its run at the Neil Simon Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with a book by Lynn Nottage, MJ won four Tony Awards in 2022 and remains a major fixture on the New York theatre landscape.

The casting shift keeps the production tied closely to its own performance legacy, with one original Broadway star handing over to a performer already associated with the show’s national expansion. For audiences, it signals both the close of an original era and the arrival of a new lead who already knows how to carry the musical’s demanding central role.