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ENTERTAINMENT

‘Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience’ on July 25

BILL NUTT
CORRESPONDENT

Joby Rogers has been paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson for 30 years. But in one instance, Jackson actually paid tribute to him.

In 2003, Jackson was asked to appear at an event at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. He was unable to attend, so he put out a call for a performer to take his place. Out of more than 100 applicants, he selected Rogers.

Ironically, the event was canceled, but Rogers received a souvenir. “I have a letter, signed by Michael, naming me his ‘official substitute,’ ” says Rogers. “To a tribute artist, there’s no greater honor.”

Rogers’ show, “The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience,” will next be performed at Centenary Stage Co. in Hackettstown on Saturday, July 25, as part of its annual Summer Jamfest.

The show covers all the phases of Jackson’s career. Rogers does a medley of Jackson 5 songs (such as “I Want You Back” and “ABC”), along with the usual suspects: “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Black Or White,” and others.

The 90-minute multimedia production is an endurance test. “I do yoga. I work out, and I run. But I’m no spring chicken,” says the performer, who turns 46 this year.

Rogers singles out “Smooth Criminal” as perhaps the most demanding number in the show. “It’s choreographed from beginning to the end. There’s no break for me,” he says. “We get through that early in the show.”

At the other end of the spectrum is “Man in the Mirror.” “I look forward to that every night. I go into the audience for that one. It’s a very interactive song,” Rogers says. “It’s a song that a lot of people connect to.”

“The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience” represents the culmination of a Rogers’ lifelong admiration for Jackson. “He was the ultimate performer,” Rogers says. “He could do it all as a singer and dancer.”

“Listen to a song like ‘I’ll Be There.’ His voice at such a young age was amazing,” Rogers says. “He was singing about things he couldn’t have experienced yet.”

“What’s incredible was the longevity of his career,” Rogers continues. “He started when he was only five years old. And then to release album after album. In his 50s, he was still selling out soccer stadiums.”

Rogers’ own career started in 1985, when he was a 16-year-old high school student. He had friends who were creating a breakdancing act for parties.

“They were looking to include a Michael Jackson routine, and my friend asked me,” Rogers says. “I had the curly hair, and I was light-skinned.”

“Those first shows were a blur,” Rogers says with a laugh. “I had never been on stage before. I was petrified, but I enjoyed it.” His career path was cemented when he won $1,000 in a Michael Jackson look-alike competition in Hartford, Connecticut.

The first song Rogers mastered was “Billie Jean.” “I had to learn that, along with the moonwalk,” he says. “It’s his signature song.”

Since then, Rogers has performed his Michael Jackson tribute on stages around around the world and on numerous TV shows.

He takes particular pride in the fact that he was selected (along with impersonators of other artists) for the cover of the Millennium issue of Rolling Stone magazine in December 1999.

Rogers dislikes the use of the word “impersonation” for his show. “I think more of myself as paying tribute to Michael,” he says. “I’m honoring his memory. It’s still so much fun, I don’t see myself giving it up any time soon.”

THE ULTIMATE MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE

WHAT: Joby Rogers pays tribute to the singing and dancing of Michael Jackson in this multimedia presentation. Rogers, who has been performing as Jackson for 30 years, includes such signature moves as the moonwalk, as well as familiar songs from the Jackson 5 days (“I Want You Back”) and the solo years (from “I’ll Be There” to “Thriller” and “Bad.”)

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: David and Carol Lackland Center, Centenary College, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown

TICKETS: $30 (advance); $35 (day of show)

INFORMATION:

908-979-0900 or www.centenarystageco.org