Michael considered This Is It a farewell show

Kenny Ortega, in an interview with Reuters last Tuesday, said that Michael intended to retire from the stage after performing fifty concerts in London. Ortega said that in the final days, Michael had found another drive.

“This Is It was a farewell show. I think Michael wanted to step away from performing after that and move into filmmaking and other things. He had told me earlier that he didn’t intend to do a world tour. He said he was young enough to handle these concerts and wanted to share it with his children. He wanted to do it for his fans.”

“He was excited. He was looking forward to the start of the concerts. Up until the very last moment, he was satisfied with how things were going—he was happy. He was eager to finish rehearsals in Los Angeles and go to London.”

“The last nights of rehearsals seemed like he had gotten another burst of energy, and everyone believed we were on the verge of a remarkable achievement at the beginning of the journey.”

Ortega also said on Thursday’s Today Show on NBC:

“Michael couldn’t sleep at night, and we had to take care of him. I would tell him, ‘Drink plenty of water. Did you eat anything before coming to rehearsal today?’”

And when Michael answered yes, Ortega would respond with doubt and uncertainty.

“Michael was an adult. We didn’t want to treat him like a child. But we were worried, and we talked with him to make sure he took care of himself and didn’t harm his body.”

“Working on this show was energizing and invigorating for him. But it wasn’t a winning analysis.”

Choreographer Travis Payne says he enjoyed sitting next to Michael and browsing on YouTube.

“I loved sitting next to him and browsing the internet. We did it to get new ideas.”

Michael’s musical director, Michael Breden, recalls Michael’s ambitious goal. He wanted to present all his music and art in one superlative show.

“He had so much music planned for the show, and we tried to make it happen—and of course he didn’t want to trick the audience.”

Ortega says Michael had unwavering power throughout the process of preparing these concerts—from performing the songs to the stage lighting.

“From the beginning of this work, Michael was very straightforward about what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it.”

Ortega concludes:

“The film This Is It is an opportunity to see Michael’s final creative process for his final on-stage work.”

Source: eMJey / AP