The shows focus on her potent catalogue ("Nasty," "All for You," "Escapade," "Miss You Much"), while aiming for a more intimate feel by playing mostly medium-sized venues.
From the outset, the tour has tried to strike a fan-friendly tone. Fans, via a vote on Jackson's website, weighed in on the nearly three dozen stops on the tour.
Each city also gets its own special song, which will be revealed right before that stop. At each location, Jackson also plans to honor 20 people younger than 20 who have contributed to their communities.
Despite the somewhat stripped-down nature of the proceedings, don't think the baby sister of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is going unplugged.
The show still is a production, requiring six backup dancers, an eight-piece band and five costume changes, from form-fitting catsuit to glamorous pink gown.
During the wardrobe changes, stills and footage of Jackson in various TV and movie roles, from "Good Times" to "Poetic Justice," air on a big screen.
She continues to be Miss Jackson - if you're nasty - to paraphrase one of her biggest hits.
Most importantly, Jackson's hits stand the test of time, says Chicago Sun-Times critic Thomas Conner.
"The Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis beats hold up all these years later, and most of the show is about moving, about Janet squeezing into this new environment," he writes in a review of the March 7 show at the Chicago Theater. "The house lights are up during much of the show."
According to another critic, Toronto Globe and Mail's Amy Verner, the drawback to fitting in so many songs is that Jackson reduces some of her best material to medleys, such as a grouping of "Control," "The Pleasure Principle" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately?"
"To cram in upward of 30 hits in a 90-minute show (plus an extended encore) meant that the songs were grouped together as medleys and teasingly shortened in a way that only someone suffering from attention deficit disorder would appreciate," Verner writes of the March 12 show.
Although Jackson commands the stage, watching her performance inevitably is a reminder of the loss of her brother, Verner writes. At the Toronto, Janet Jackson show made several references to Michael, who died in 2009, and performed, "Scream," their 1995 duet.
"Seeing Jackson in concert is less about her vocal range than her command of countless choreographed moves to catchy songs that you find you know the words to," Verner writes. "She's in her element performing live, transitioning smoothly from fierce and aggressive to sweet and giggly.
"Most of all, she's no substitute for Michael but she's the closest we've got."
Janet Jackson
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 25 and 26
WHERE: Event Center, Borgata
Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City
HOW MUCH: Tickets, priced at $95, $125 and $135, are available at the Borgata box office or
www.pressofatlanticcity.com/tickets
WEBSITE: www.janetjackson.com
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