A shared penchant for creativity and hard work helps Jordan Markus as he takes on the “very heavy task” of playing Michael Jackson in the musical, “MJ,” coming to Philadelphia’s Academy of Music via Ensemble Arts Philly for two weeks starting Wednesday, Jan. 8. “It’s the most daunting task I ever had,” said Markus, who has faced many tasks, said by telephone. Like Jackson, Markus is a singer-songwriter who recorded a new song with one of his “MJ” castmates last week. Jordan Markus will play Michael Jackson in the musical “MJ,” coming to Philadelphia’s Academy of Music via Ensemble Arts Philly for two weeks starting Wednesday, Jan. 8. (FRANCIS Sylvain/AFP via Getty Images) Add to that Markus has “loved Michael” since he was a child. He laughs as he recalls practicing moonwalking and other Jackson moves years before he knew he’d have to perform them before audiences on Broadway and throughout the U.S. “Writing and performing my own songs informs me more about Michael’s character than if I didn’t actually practice the craft of making and recording music,” Markus says. “Creativity is a gift, and Michael had a massive creative need to produce his own work and do something original. I’m not comparing myself to Michael, but that we have singing, songwriting, and striving to create in common helps me relate better to him and what motivated him.” “Craft” and “creativity” are themes of a conversation that shows how dedicated Markus is to his own work and to bringing Michael Jackson to the stage. He may have practiced Jackson’s choreography when he was young, but now that he’s playing Michael, Markus speaks about dissecting Jackson’s performing style and finding the balance between the idol he’s portraying and himself. “Michael was the hardest working person in show business,” Markus says. “He rehearsed constantly, never taking anything for granted and always trying to perfect what he created. He had such discipline. It’s motivating. It makes you want to work as hard as Michael did.” Finding a balance between Michael and Jordan is “no small feat,” Markus says. “It’s a constant battle in which I repeatedly ask myself, ‘What would Michael do?’ then ‘What would Jordan do?’ then ask all over again. “Doing that, and by studying Michael in every YouTube I could find of him performing and giving interviews, I was able to find the place where Michael comes across foremost but I feel a a sense of self-expression. Finding that balance is not only work, it’s part of the fun of doing this role.” “MJ” has an advantage most musicals don’t. Its book is by one of the world’s major playwrights, Lynn Nottage, represented earlier this season with a sharp production of “Intimate Apparel” at the Arden. “The story is not told linearly,” Markus says. It takes place in a rehearsal room and concentrates on the work done there. “The great thing about the script is from the minute I began reading it, I felt the ethos of Michael. From my study of Michael, it was clear to me Lynn takes a deep dive into his personality and work ethic. “The plot doesn’t come directly from sources. It’s storytelling for a purpose. It has texture. It gets to the essence of Michael. It puts him in the room, and it links well with the music. It also makes the show more than a musical revue.” Of course, there’s still plenty of music. “MJ” is known for its Tony-winning choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, who like Markus and Nottage, has a wide range of experience, with deep roots in both classical ballet and Broadway. Wheeldon recently debuted a new ballet, “Oscar,” about playwright Oscar Wilde, in Australia. Markus says he’s been involved with music from as long as he can remember. “My journey starts with music. I started singing in my uncle’s church and in other choirs.” Although he attended a high school that was an arts magnet school, his concentration was music. Other than that, Markus’s interest was basketball. Acting entered the picture when he injured himself and couldn’t perform on the court. He was cast in “Bring It On,” a musical aboutcheerleading, and that was enough for him to add acting to his repertory. “The acting bug bit hard,” he said. “The theater is general attracted me. It was another outlet for creativity, another craft to learn. I saw how the arts connected and the happiness than gave me.” Dancing on a professional level wasn’t far behind. “I always loved dancing. I did it all the time, and the dancer I emulated most was Michael Jackson. Remember that moonwalking I told you about. Michael leaves a legacy of music and entertainment, and it’s wonderful to be able to portray him for an audience.” Audiences, which Markus says can be different. “When you’re stationery in New York, you don’t realize how different audiences around the country are. “The reaction to ‘MJ’ is great everywhere, but it’s interesting to me to see what people in different places respond to. The best part about touring is everybody can’t get to Broadway, and we can bring a Broadway show to their doorsteps. I can’t wait to meet theaudience in Philly.” Eskin’s departure from WIP One thing I’m sure of. No matter what happened on Friday, sports talk listeners haven’t heard the last of Howard Eskin. A message from Eskin on X told the news that Howard, dubbed “The King” by Pete Rose and a fixture among local sportscasters for more almost 50 years, would be leaving WIP (94.1 FM), a station he helped launch when it transformed from a music station to an all-sports format in 1986. During those 38 years, Eskin has been at the mike for thousands of shows, whether as host, panelist or guest. His airtime has lessened the past few years, but any time he was heard, Eskin was treated as a senior member of the firm and an authority on sports subjects. He also kept close ties with sources at the various local teams and schools and brought the kind of enterprise news that seems almost unsought by broadcasters these days. Howard Eskin (COURTESY OF WIP) Leaving WIP does not mean retirement. The last last line of Eskin’s X message was “I look forward to what comes next.” The rest of the thread says, “I leave the station with great affection for the callers who have made what I do so fulfilling during my time here.” The unexpectedness of Eskin’s departure — He, at age 73, is among the people I call “the dinosaurs,” the ones who plow on no matter what — makes one wonder whether it was voluntary. Audacy, which owns WIP, has been making personnel cuts across the board in recent months, and an incident earlier this year caused a summer run-in between Eskin and the corporate folks. His choice or not, I would not be surprised if Eskin was heard or seen on other stations, and soon. One question is whether he will continue as a sideline reporter for the remainder of the Philadelphia Eagles football games scheduled for WIP. Eskin has been an integral part of the broadcast, commenting on weather and field conditions while giving injury reports and othernews to booth announcers Merrill Reese and Mike Quick. Howard Eskin began broadcasting on Philadelphia radio stations in the mid-70s. He became known for being opinionated and having a willingness to venture towards the controversial. He certainly had no trouble disagreeing with callers, or colleagues, in terms that were not always the most polite. Since he became the sports anchor at Channel 3 in 1982, Eskin has been assuring his place as the best known, and one of the best informed, sportscasters in the market. His move to Channel 29 in 1986 gave that station’s fledgling newscast credibility. Television made Eskin a star, but radio is his longtime and more frequent metier. You could tell he liked sparring with some of his recent WIP colleagues. It was interesting to hear the teasing byplay between Howard and his son, Spike Eskin, the excellent co-host of WIP’s 2 to 6 p.m. weekday show with Ike Reese and Jack Fritz. Kelce gets late-night gig Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, now seen hourly as a commentator, philanthropist, or in a commercial, begins his own ESPN late-night talk show, “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce” at 1 a.m. on Jan. 4. ESPN says Kelce’s shows are going to run on five consecutive Fridays, but their 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. time slots — 1:30 for the final show in February — has it airing early on Saturdays. Former Eagles star Jason Kelce is branching out again, this time with a late night sports talk show on ESPN. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) The show will be done in front of a live audience at Union Transfer, 10th and Spring Garden in Philadelphia. Snacktime, a Philadelphia band, provides the music. Besides, ESPN, Kelce’s show can also be seen on ESPN+. ESPN YouTube, and the Jason Kelce Channel on YouTube. Golden Globes early look The Golden Globe field will get an in-depth look next week, but looking at what might be the most important television category, Best Drama Series, I see six worthy shows but narrow the field down to two, FX/Hulu’s “Shōgun” and Peacock’s “The Day of the Jackal,” the first episode of which airs 10 p.m. Dec. 30, on NBC (Channel 10). Both shows are compelling and complete but have different styles. The difference might come down to Golden Globe voters who prefer an old-fashioned epic done with taste and strong plot/character development vs. an intense, suspenseful, fast-action thriller that has the power to move you to the edge of your seat. Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch attend the U.K. premiere of “The Day Of The Jackal” at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Oct. 22 in London. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) The same dynamic might influence “Best Comedy of Musical” in the movie category with “Wicked” being a great standard entertainment and “Emilia Pérez” being a wild ride of unpredictable fun and horror. Although my adjectives for “The Day of the Jackal” are more compelling than those for “Shōgun,” both are remarkable achievements of their kind. One relies on direct but elegant storytelling and the introduction to a culture that seems new to most viewers. The other, sort of like “Emilia Pérez,” is a roller coaster that has you rooting in ways that go against your usual judgment, that throws some sentimental curves between non-stop action, that makes you think of the complexity of characters and of life in general, and that keeps you impressed by the plot twists and the way they’re depicted. Of all the Golden Globe categories, this is the most heady, even considering the competition to Best Limited Series, the outcome of which has many possibilities. Cavuto ends long Fox run Neil Cavuto signed off from his final Fox News Network with a typically witty yet touching statement about his 30 years in television news. In spite of being skeptical of news anchors in this age of partisan language, Cavuto was among the news folk I most respected and trusted. He did a great job during his early days at CNBC and was freer than most in cable TV of the bias that is the basis of my skepticism. Skepticism so great, it is my stance that there is almost no news on television, network or cable, today, only pandering to specific group that tunes in to be reinforced or justified in opinions they formed from news outlet propaganda in the first place. Neil Cavuto, moderator of the Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate arrives on stage at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center on Jan. 14, 2016, in North Charleston, South Carolina. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images) A general viewer may not be too far behind me in taking that attitude. The television news audience is dwindling. Stations that found their partisan stances and like-thinking viewers in response to the collapse of print journalism a decade ago are losing the viewers that tuned it to hear them. This is especially true of leftward-leaning cable networks, CNN and MSNBC. Five of the six major television news organizations lean left. They may deny their bias, but it’s visible in almost every headline and intonation. You can only laugh at journalists who think they’re fair when they practically cry over some situations while congratulating equal nonsense from the competing political camp. In radio, conservative viewpoints, such as presented by Sean Hannity nationally or Dom Giordano locally, have thrived while stations offering progressive opinions have failed. In fact, I can’t think of many attempts to launch liberal or even middle-of-the-road programming on radio since Air American bombed so solidly around 2010. Television is the opposite. MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN all have a leftward bias. Apparently, in an age when news is treated like programming and skewed to attract the most eyeballs, these entities believe the more progressive the better. The television audience might not agree with them. Looking in particular at cable ratings since the November election, it looks as if MSBNC and CNN, in the majority camp of broadcasters favoring the left, have been hemorrhaging viewers while Fox News Channel, the one station that skews rightward, continues to do just fine. MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and eponymous “Rachel Maddow Show” have lost almost half of their audience in the last month. It will be interesting to see what kind of recovery Scarborough, Maddow, and their producers think will turn that tide. Maybe they just have to wait four years for the next presidential contest.