“MJ: The Musical” is peddling a kind of nostalgia that seems harmless on the surface, but I worry that deep down is actually quite dangerous.

I’ll explain what I mean by that in a moment, but “dangerous” is an apt word as the latest jukebox musical in our touring Broadway season is set on the eve of Michael Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous” tour. The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is betting big on the show, which will be in town twice as long as the usual Broadway touring show. It’s probably a safe bet; Jackson is the best-selling solo artist of all time, with the best-selling album (“Thriller)” of all time to his credit.

In “MJ: The Musical,” Michael Jackson answers questions about his life asked by his therapist — no, wait, sorry, that’s what happened in the Neil Diamond jukebox musical we just saw. Here, it’s a documentary filmmaker asking the questions, spurring flashbacks to provide insight into Jackson’s psyche and creative progress.

It’s shallow insight at best, but the talent pool onstage and behind the scenes is deep. Paul Tazewell’s costumes and Charles G. LaPointe’s wigs create iconic moments and beautifully recall different eras. Director Christopher Wheeldon also choreographed, and watch those dancers move. They seem to emerge straight from the videos and concerts of the 1980s and ’90s.

For that matter, so does Jordan Markus, who plays the Michael Jackson of the 1990s. It’s not just the moonwalk, it’s the way his limbs bend, his pelvis thrusts, his head snaps. It’s uncanny, along the memorable whisper of a voice and the childlike facial expressions that call to mind a fragile bird.

Two other actors play MJ: Erik Hamilton makes a strong impression, both vocally and physically, as mid-year Jackson, while Bane Griffith uncannily nails the sound of young Michael and has charisma to burn.

Anastasia Talley gives Michael’s mother a solid, if totally misguided, dignity. And Devin Bowles makes a strong impact with the most complex and interesting role(s) in the show: He plays Michael’s driven father, who shows love through threats and orders, and Michael’s “Dangerous” tour manager — a more benevolent but perhaps equally to blame father figure.

A couple of big production numbers stand out in particular: An ode to Jackson’s love of dance legends including Fred Astaire and Bob Fosse; a seductive “Smooth Criminal” and a “Thriller” number that’s well, thrilling.

Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, wrote the book — meaning the storyline and script — for the show. I am a big fan of Nottage, whose plays such as “Sweat” create characters and situations that feel indelibly real and illuminate what makes us humans tick. Not so with “MJ” though, which outside the music is a repetitive litany of: Michael had a bad childhood, Michael had an abusive father, Michael’s parents didn’t model love for him, Michael was messed up by all of that.

Is this news to anyone? With that common knowledge, and awareness of how Jackson’s life tragically ends, there aren’t any dramatic stakes in play although Nottage tries to gin one up with brief worry about a mortgage on Jackson’s famed Neverland ranch.

Setting the show in 1992 also conveniently avoids talking about child-abuse charges and subsequent erratic behavior. And that’s where my earlier comment about “dangerous” nostalgia comes from.

We’re living in an era in which it’s all too common to ignore inconvenient truths about our idols and inconvenient facts about our world, and where we accept lies if they align with the way we want things to be — never mind how things actually are. A show that sugarcoats a notable life this way just further disconnects us from reality.

The music might make you happy for “the good old days” — which, remember, were never as good as we think they were — but even with all this talent and razzle-dazzle production numbers, this look at Michael Jackson’s life gone off the rails left me incredibly sad.

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at [email protected]. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment .

‘MJ: The Musical’