MJ The Musical and St. Louis

In this episode I share my thoughts on visiting St. Louis Missouri. I also share about what I thought about MJ The Musical which is how I came to going to Missouri. How far would you go to see a certain thing? I also debated on what items should contain protein. What was my favorite part about visiting St. Louis Missouri and will I go back in the near future.

Here is a link to my other podcast-

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-simple-discussion/id1843198044

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Let's Talk podcast. My name is Hannah Kevington, and I am so glad to be back with you guys yet again, even though it is very rainy, gloomy outside where I am. I don't I don't know about y'all, but I am not loving this weather. Can the sun please be shining and I don't sleep half the day away? I am very guilty of that. Very. If you ask somebody, I will be one of those that will try to sleep the whole day away when I need to get stuff done. If you're the same way, don't feel guilty because I am in the same boat as you. I hope you guys had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, even though the weather decided not to be what it should have been for Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations to all the people who graduated. I have seen many people who have graduated on social media to what I did a couple days ago. So congrats to you all. I hope you guys have a great future ahead of you, especially a bright one. I feel that that needs to be said because I don't think enough people say congratulations and wish people luck when they graduate either from high school or college. I know college has happened weeks ago and high school just happened. So congrats to all. Hope y'all are making some bright future plans ahead of you of either going to college, furthering and getting a master's or doctorate, or you're just looking for a job like I am still. You can be two years out and still be looking for a job. But that is not today's topic, sadly. But I do want to talk about a food I tried while on the road of what I'm going to be talking about because gas stations are filled with a lot of interesting foods, and we made a lot of pit stops on the way there and back. Didn't try as much, but I saw a lot of interesting things. I'm surprised I didn't grab them to try later down the road because sometimes you need snacks in the room. I don't know why I didn't grab these, but I did not. I don't know if anybody's tried this, but I have been hearing about this very heavily. Is does protein need to be in certain types of products? It's been a heavy debated subject. I've heard about it on other podcasts, YouTube videos, social media. I have mixed feelings because I saw this quite a bit while I was on the road. Was there a certain brand of Pop Tarts? Like they were off-brand Pop Tart, is the best way I can describe it. And this off-brand Pop Tart also had a protein donut as well. I don't know if it's worth a try. Somebody please tell me. Because I was interested in trying it, but like I didn't want to try it. And I saw it at almost every pit stop we made the way they're ambacked, because it's easier to grab food at a gas station than go to a fast food joint, let's say. And this just kept popping up. And I'm like, is it worth a try? Because the chocolate one was grabbing my attention the most. Didn't grab it because I was like, I don't know if it's worth a try, and I don't want to ruin my appetite trying this Pop Tart. And the Pop Tart brand has also been creating a protein-filled Pop Tart, so we'll see. And why I say we'll see because it has been getting mixed reviews from some of the people I have been watching on social media who do food reviews. They like that there's more feel feeling and that the Pop Tart is a little bigger. And I don't know what to think. It's just very, very interesting because some of them are like, I like that there's more feeling, but they feel it's not really protein-based, and it's just marketing that the Pop Tart brand is using. Does protein belong in our pastries? It's all up to y'all and your decision to make. It's the great debate of 2026 of what should have been marketed as protein-based and what should not be marketed as protein-based. This is what I'm learning from all the food reviews I've been watching on Instagram to Facebook to YouTube. This is what this year is turning into is the great protein debate. Do we get it in meat and eggs and tofu and protein shakes? Or does it need to be in chips, protein bars, and vice versa? Now there are some good protein bar brands. I'm not gonna hate. Because I was a big fan of premier protein and I thought I would like this one. Yeah, I'm not a fan of it. I don't think I would try any more clear proteins. I would rather stay to the shakes, yogurt, and the bars if I'm gonna have any kind of protein-ish snack of any kind of sort. Please let me know if I should try the built protein bars that are marshmallow-filled because I have an interest in trying them, by the way. So we'll have to wait and see what my thoughts are on these beautiful protein bars and protein-packed Pop Tarts that I have been hearing about very heavily. So we'll have to wait and see. Will I grab it or just be a chicken and not try it? Because there's times when I when I'll say, Oh, I'm gonna try this. And when it comes to the end of the day, I don't try it. Let's move on to what is today's beautiful topic, which you guys are probably wondering. Hannah, what is this podcast episode gonna be about? If you know me by any chance at all, and if you followed me from one of my internships, and we did a movie week based on this, which is I am a musical theater nerd, and we did a musical theater movie week, my last week of this internship, the funnest week we ever did, by the way. And I loved every second of it, every second. We are I'm so excited to talk about it. My first musical theater talk. I am so excited to talk musical theater. Let's dive into some musical theater talk, which is it's only fitting I'm talking about this because I feel like I just put out an episode on the Michael Jackson movie, which was so good. Please pause this podcast if you have not listened to the Michael Jackson movie review and go listen to that before listening to the rest of this episode because I feel like the two kind of fit together to a degree. Sort of, yeah, sort of. When I mean sort of is they touch on a little bit of some of some of the same stuff, but I'll say I like both equally. I can't keep dancing around the musical that I saw, which was I saw MJ the musical, and I I'm gonna say it. I love this musical, it was so good. I haven't seen this good of a musical since Hamilton. I even liked liked it better than the other musical I saw earlier this year, which is not so long ago, it feels how long ago was it that you asked? Like probably two months ago, if I am correct. I saw it back in February. It is now May. So yes, it's been two months, and out of the two musicals, I'm gonna pick MJ. And it was in both of these musicals are based off musical artists, and Michael Jackson is just simply better, is what I'm gonna pick. So that's what I'm gonna pick is MJ the musical. But how did I hear about this lovely, amazing musical? I am just now seeing since it started on Broadway. It all started with my parents seemed to always be seeing musicals the whole time I was in college. They would go see musicals and tell me stories about musicals, bring me playbills back. I am so lucky that they would bring me playbills back so I can build my playbill collection, which it is a hearty collection, since I have started that collection a couple years ago, which is awesome. I think I am just now seeing my playbill hole holder that I thought I had lost when I was looking for it the other day. Love my life. I find it when I least expect it. Go me. I love when you find stuff when you're recording a podcast episode. Go me. And so yeah, I heard about this musical through my parents. It was one of those random musicals one of my parents wanted to go see in New York. They actually saw it with the original cast. And this is something I'm gonna recommend to people. If there's a musical you are dying to see, go see it with the original cast. If the tickets are priced reasonably, because tickets can be expensive, it's one of those things you do once in your lifetime, and I've actually gotten to experience this once, and I am so grateful I've gotten to experience this once, and I'm glad they have experienced this, and they got to experience this with MJ the musical, and they were telling me they were going to see this musical. I'm like, okay, okay, cool. Bring me something back from the musical, and they're like, okay. And they brought me back a t-shirt, and I was like, okay, I didn't know realize after I got the t-shirt that it was about Michael Jackson. And I was like, okay, and they said, Oh, yeah, it's it's really good. And I never pushed and was like, okay, do I need to be going to see this? Never crossed my mind until we went and saw the Alicia Keys musical back in February after the horrendous snowstorm, or was it right before? It was either before or after the horrendous snowstorm we had of 2026. I can't remember. It was earlier this year. We saw the Alicia Keys musical, and that was an interesting musical, but halfway through the Alicia Keys musical, we were sitting killing time before part two started, like or act two, whatever you want to call it, we're sitting there, and one of my parents said, This isn't as good as MJ, and we want to take you to go see MJ. And I'm like, Really? They're like, Yes, you need to see MJ. And I was like, okay, where is it gonna be close to us that we can go see it? And they said, St. Louis, and I was like, okay, I'm willing to go see this, and they were very adamant about taking me to go see MJ the musical, and I was like, okay, I'm willing to go see it. Didn't know when it was gonna happen. I I was I was just living in the moment when they said, we're gonna go take you to go see this musical at some point this year, and I was like, okay. It's uh it sounds like this is one of those shows that will be on Broadway for five to ten years because of how good it is, and how badly people want to go see it, and how much of an impact Michael Jackson made on the music industry. You don't realize how big of an impact an artist makes on the music industry until the musical is like phenomenal and people are still going to see it. And I am back, and what were some of my favorite songs from the show? Oh, that's hard because I feel like there were songs added since the musical has started because there were some more like songs that were written for the musical, or there was uh songs combined, which I always love when two songs or more are combined and they make sense, or certain songs are used in a different way because they did that a lot in Alicia Keys' musical. That was the only positive I had from that musical was how certain songs were used used for certain scenes, and I would say that for this, and what was uh my favorite song that they did for the musical for MJ would probably be how they combined I'm looking through the list of songs by the way, the Earth song and They Don't Care About Us, which kind of makes sense because they were leading to a certain storyline in the music of what Michael was getting across would have to be one of my favorite songs other than the other than the opening number, which is Beat It, which is one of his more well-known songs, other than Thriller or Billy Jean. I also liked how they fit in some of the Jackson 5 songs into the musical when it was the musical was more based on him getting ready for the Dange Dangerous Tour, Danger Tour, which was late 80s, early 90s. I was not alive when this happened, but it was focused on this one tour, and they were trying to showcase of what went on behind the scenes of practices with Michael Jackson before going out on tour, which was really cool. Did it showcase Michael Jackson's life? If you are wanting to see a showcase of Michael Jackson's life, go see the Michael Jackson film. It is probably still in theaters by the time this episode gets put out. If you're wanting a more detailed story, go see the Michael Jackson film. Or if you're listening to it after it's been in theaters, go rent it, go buy it, go find it on a streaming service and watch it. It just picks small pieces from his life in the musical. It doesn't go into full detail, it just vaguely touches because a musical can't get into as thoroughly detailed as a movie can, because a movie can be more than one part, which the Michael Jackson film is gonna be two parts. It is very well known and it has been talked about that it's gonna be at least a two-parter. I think I mentioned that in the Michael Jackson episode. If you have not listened to that episode, I could have waited a little longer before putting that episode out, but I was more interested in getting it out because it was the hot topic to put out. I should have waited and I could have gotten more views. I'm learning. This is my first year running my own podcast. It ain't easy running a podcast. Uh I'm being honest with you guys. Y'all are wanting to know honest truths of running a podcast. It is not easy, so it vaguely showcases Michael's life. It was mainly focused on what was happening behind the scenes, and it also delve into something I didn't know, but other people might have known that were in the crowd because they might have been alive during this time when MTV was more music-based. Yes, MTV used to be more music-based than it is now, and how they made a Michael Jackson documentary, and how they got the footage for that documentary, and how the interviews went, to how they practiced certain songs. It was just a interesting experience. That is a hard question to answer because I really love the movie because of I think the actors they picked to play the characters. I would actually like to see his nephew who played him, Jafar, to actually go out on tour and play Michael in the MJ musical. After seeing the musical, I'm kind of like, I would like to see Jafar play his uncle out on the musical. So anybody that's a part of the MJ cast and listens to this episode, maybe consider hitting up Jafar and getting Jafar as a part of the musical because I think he would do a good job in the musical. And I'm I'm trying not to use filler words, but it's hard some days. And some people might just want a short section of his life that goes more into detail and depth of what goes on behind the scenes of the tour, where as people want the whole story. And I'm more the one that wants the whole story because I really didn't know who Michael Jackson was until he died. And off and on throughout my life, I've been curious of how his life was. And the musical only gives snippets of that part, and why the danger tour was shaped the way it was, and how much money he put into his tours, and why he had to make every tour bigger when really everybody was just there for him and his music, because it was a big deal, I guess, back in the day. If you got to go see Michael Jackson. Because they did a nod to the Super Bowl performance where he did nothing. I love that they did a nod to that because apparently that was also a big deal back in the 90s because he had been asked for a second time to perform at the Super Bowl, and he decided he wasn't gonna perform because as soon as I saw the outfit, I remember watching that video, and I was like, oh yeah, that was the performance where he didn't do anything, and he just stood there and let the crowd scream for him. And I'm glad they put that into the musical. I loved all the costumes because right as they were leading to the end of the first act, I was watching that scene. I forgot which songs they were that did that, but the costumes I remember really reminded me of Hamilton because of the jackets, and I brought that up with some of my family. I was like, okay, these jackets really remind me of Hamilton to a degree. I was like, were they copying Hamilton when they created these costumes? That was a thought that was crossing my mind when I was doing that. And did I prepare for the musical? Well, yes, I went, I listened to a little bit of the soundtrack, I listened to a little bit of Michael's music as well. I went and saw the Michael Jackson film because I thought, hey, this might play a crucial role before I go see this film, and I'm glad I saw this film. And what did I learn from the musical was Michael is a very caring soul in that he was wanting to give some of the money back to help people, which was very amazing. Because I don't think we see the caring part about from about him that much in the media, and I'm glad the musical address that because that is something that's not talked about. What else did I like about it? Oh, that's so so hard. Oh, that he's human. I think people forget how human he is. We just think of him as this big pop star when really he is human at the end of the day, and we can't forget these things, so I yeah. And the other thing I gained was how he would speak up for himself for his his skin condition, and people would always ask, Did he bleach his skin? And he kept saying, No, I didn't bleach my skin, it was a condition he had, and he even told his children about it too when they came of a certain age, so they would speak up when they were asked at an older age once he'd passed away. And I'm gonna be moving away from the musical because I am also gonna talk about my experience with going to St. Louis because this was was my first time visiting St. Louis, and that I had never been to St. Louis of all the places, and it's pretty close to us, about a five-hour drive, five, five and a half hour drive, and I had never been to St. Louis until just recently. I know people talk about oh, we've been to St. Louis, and I'm like, don't know where that is until going to see MJ the musical, and I'm glad I've had this experience going to St. Louis. What was my favorite favorite part about visiting St. Louis? Oh I would say how friendly people were. And I'm glad I had that positive experience of the people, and also it didn't seem as busy for a big city. Because most big cities are very bustling from all the cities I've visited throughout my life of Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, New York. Almost every big city I've been to is bustling, but St. Louis really was not that busy for being a big city. And we we were barely there, but we only did one touristy day, and I'm sad about it because we didn't get to everything we wanted to go see. It could have been we could have spent two days there, but we had other plans because it was Memorial Day weekend when we went to St. Louis, and so that's why we didn't get as many tourist touristy days. It's one of those times where you could go back another time and see stuff. And the big thing I wanted to go see when I was there and we got to see, which is the biggest touristy thing you can do if you go to St. Louis, and I think it's what marks Saint Louis if you talk to people, which is which is the big arch, which is called the Gateway Arch. And I am glad we went to it. And what did I learn about the arch was we watched this film about it? It was about a 20-minute film, and I wish I had had a hit more caffeine in my system when we were watching the film because I felt like I was yawning during the entire film. I feel so bad. I was just straight up yawning the entire time. I couldn't help it. I felt that I did not have enough caffeine in my system. Oh well, I learned that it was a couple years project, from what I understand, which is really cool. I would have never thought it would be a couple years project. I thought, oh, they would get it done in a year, but no, from how they designed it to all the pieces, they had to come up with a hearty design that wouldn't flop after a year because they wanted it to represent the city well because St. Louis is a part of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which I did not know until they were explaining why the arch was created. And I also didn't know that it was considered a part of the national parks. I'm like, but we're not really out in nature, it's in a big city, but it was considered a national park that I found interesting. And it was also connected to this old courthouse as well. When you get your ticket, you get to also go into the courthouse as well. If I wasn't so thirsty, I think I would have enjoyed that part a little bit more and been more interested in going through that part. Because when you're tired, thirsty, and your feet hurt, that is not a great combo, especially for me, because I'll hold back the grouchiness for so long, but when I'm like, I am thirsty, my feet are tired, I'm gonna speak up for myself, and I'll try to do it in a polite manner, is the best way I can explain it. Yeah, and something I also found interesting about the gateway arch, they had a whole museum part before you got ready to go ride up the arch or watch the film, and the museum part was very eye-opening. I could have spent two hours looking through the exhibit and all the stuff it touched on, and you don't realize how much of the Native American population was affected during the Lewis and Clark expedition, and how badly the Native American American population was hurt once the Americans came into their area. There's just a lot you gain knowledge-wise. I could have read more, but we were on a tight time frame. There was a lot you could have read about, it was so eye-opening. They had two different sides you could have gone on to read stuff. I read a lot of the colonial and not the more modern history, which is very interesting. There was a whole section on the St. Louis fires in 1800s or 1900s. I also did not realize there was a cholera outbreak that really affected the city, which led to them building a sewage system. I didn't know that. It was also interesting. I also liked how they have been slowly feeding in technology because that is one of the hardest things with history, is how can we bring technology in while preserving history? And they did a phenomenal job with doing that because they could put interviews in on this touch screen, and people could pick what they want to watch, and they don't have to sit around and wait for all these videos, they can just click on what they want to watch. I think my favorite touch screen was the Native American one. I think I spent about almost 10 minutes at that area watching two out of the three videos, which I found interesting. And how was the food scene in St. Louis? Oh, the food scene was amazing. There was not a bad restaurant we went to while in St. Louis. The first night we went to this Mexican restaurant that was barely down the road from the hotel we were staying at that had the best guacamole. And it was like a table-side guacamole that was delicious. I hadn't had that best, like amazing guacamole since a certain restaurant in Washington, DC, we would always go to. It was kind of a hole in a wall Cajun restaurant, and it was worth it. I would go back to that restaurant the next time I go back to St. Louis. Well worth it. And the rest I I would say both both restaurants we ate at for dinner grabbed my attention. Would I consider moving to St. Louis? You know, if I had had another day of experience in St. Louis, I would probably move to St. Louis. I'm not opposed to the idea of moving to St. Louis, it's not that busy, but you can walk everywhere, which is nice for me. I like being able to walk anywhere. And I could probably get the hang of Uber and be able to Uber everywhere. Uber's expensive, but if you can walk places, it's all the difference. And being able, and there's a lot of apartments you could get. There's a lot of things you can do in St. Louis if you just do the research, ask around. That is one thing I'd recommend. If you have a talkative Uber driver, ask them where are places you would recommend going. More than likely, they will tell you some of the best places to go to for food, activities as recommendations. The same with your hotel. And I hope you have enjoyed today's episode, and I will see you next time. Bye.