Yates show to pay tribute to King of Pop

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on July 2, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Showtime Australia is bringing an international tribute to the late king of pop Michael Jackson to the Yates Memorial Theatre on Wednesday evening with a full scale production of his greatest hits.

Cape Town native Garth Field as Michael Jackson in The Michael HIStory Show said the tribute is bringing back songs like Thriller, Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal and ABC, in a show that will make audiences feel like they are attending a Michael Jackson concert once again.

“I have been playing tribute to Michael Jackson since 2015 and in 2023 I was approached by Showtime Australia for this show and we started in Johannesburg in January and February of this year, then we went to New Zealand and now we are here in Canada,” said Field.

Field has been touring in British Columbia, and Lethbridge will be his first stop in Alberta before heading to Medicine Hat, Calgary and St. Albert, and then heading to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec for a total of 30 shows across Canada.

When talking about why he is portraying Michael Jackson out of many other possible artists that he could have chosen, Field said the answer to that takes him back to his childhood.

“As a young boy, I watched and learned from Michael Jackson when I started to learn how to dance. A lot of us started dancing because of Michael Jackson,” said Field.

He said another reason why he chose to play tribute to Michael Jackson is because his music evokes so much emotion and brings so much style to the genre.

“For me is such a humbling experience to be paying tribute to Michael Jackson. I want everyone to come and see what an amazing musician and talented artist he was.”

Field said getting on stage and getting into character is exciting, but to imagine Jackson on the stage and try to portray him the best way possible is hard to explain because it evokes so much emotion.

“I am not an impersonator. I am paying tribute to the legend, to the king of Pop. I could never describe the feeling of stepping into his shoes. It’s a very exciting experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Field said he hopes people watching the show will feel like they are in a concert and they get up and dance because dancing to his music is a way to pay tribute to the king.

“It is going to be an amazing experience. We have a live band, choreograph dancers, authentic costumes, state of the art sound. It is the ultimate tribute to the King of Pop so I hope people come out and enjoy the show.”