A Strange Loop

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A Strange Loop

Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy  /  1m, 6any gender (adult)

Michael R. Jackson

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael R Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity and instincts he both loves and loathes.

Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

A Strange Loop

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1m, 6any gender (adult)
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! Two 2022 Tony Awards, for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical
    Winner! 2022 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical
    Winner! Five 2020 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, Lyrics and Book
    Winner! 2020 Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical
    Winner! Six 2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New or Off-Broadway Musical, Book and Score
    Winner! 2020 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical
A Strange Loop

Details

Summary

Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer.

Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael R Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black and queer-ass Great American Musical for all!

History
A Strange Loop premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on 24 May 2019. Directed by Stephen Brackett, the production featured Larry Owens as Usher, with Antwayn Hopper, James Jackson Jr., L Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison and Jason Veasey as the Thoughts. On 14 April 2022, A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. Directed by Brackett, the production featured Jaquel Spivey as Usher, with the six actors from the off-Broadway production reprising their performances as the Thoughts.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

USHER
THOUGHT 1
THOUGHT 2
THOUGHT 3
THOUGHT 4
THOUGHT 5
THOUGHT 6

1 man, 6 any gender (2 high voice, 2 flexible voice, 2 low voice)

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting Here and Now.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes
    • Strong Language

Media

“A dazzling ride. No measure of praise could be too much.” – The New York Times

“Thrillingly strange, playful and hilarious.” – Evening Standard

“Magnificent. Strikingly original and highly entertaining.” – The Guardian

“Dazzling” – The Stage

“A Strange Loop is a musical for our times, a slickly tender, affirmative exploration of otherness.” – The Telegraph

“The score very much drives the narrative, but the songs are eminently enjoyable to listen to... It sounds like musical theatre heaven.” – Theatre Weekly

“Irreverent and funny.” – Time Out UK

“A Strange Loop is a shattering, electrifying debut musical. Jackson’s score is packed with maddening melodies and clever rhymes.” – Entertainment Weekly

“The new musical by Michael R. Jackson performs a phenomenal feat — it is both a raw and unflinching interrogation of identity and the most furiously entertaining show on Broadway.” – Variety

“Explosively imaginative. Dazzlingly one-of-a-kind. Broadway’s best new musical.” – Washington Post

★★★★★ “This is the musical we’ve been waiting for... It’s screamingly funny and howlingly hurt, and it’s unmissable.” – Time Out NY

Videos

  • A Strange Loop – Broadway Promo youtube thumbnail

    A Strange Loop – Broadway Promo

  • A Strange Loop – "Intermission Song" youtube thumbnail

    A Strange Loop – "Intermission Song"

  • A Strange Loop – "Today" youtube thumbnail

    A Strange Loop – "Today"

  • A Strange Loop – "Inner White Girl" youtube thumbnail

    A Strange Loop – "Inner White Girl"

Photos

  • A Strange Loop

    Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • A Strange Loop

    Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • A Strange Loop

    Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • A Strange Loop

    Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • A Strange Loop

    Image: 2019 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

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Music

Music Samples

“Intermission Song” – Usher, Thoughts
“Today” – Usher, Thoughts
“We Wanna Know” – Thoughts
“Inner White Girl” – Usher, Thoughts
“Didn’t Want Nothin’” – Thoughts
“Exile in Gayville” – Usher, Thoughts
“Second Wave” – Usher
“Tyler Perry Writes Real Life” – Usher, Thoughts
“Writing a Gospel Play” – Usher, Thoughts
“A Sympathetic Ear” – Thought 1
“Inwood Daddy” – Usher, Thought 6, Thoughts
“Boundaries” – Usher
“Periodically” – Thought 4, Usher
“Didn’t Want Nothin’ Reprise” – Thought 5
“Precious Little Dream / AIDS Is God’s Punishment” – Usher, Thoughts
“Memory Song” – Usher, Thoughts 2-6
“A Strange Loop” – Usher, Thoughts
1   Reed
1   Drums
1   Keybaord 1
1   Keybaord 2/Guitar 2
1   Guitar 1 – Doubling Banjo
1   Bass
  • Musical Style Pop/Rock
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Medium
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.
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Authors

Michael R. Jackson

Michael R. Jackson
Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. It was also the recipient of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He is also the author of White Girl in Danger, produced by the Vineyard Theatre in co-production with Secon ...
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