The show you must see on Broadway right now: A Strange Loop
The Pulitzer Prize-winning show A Strange Loop, written by Michael R. Jackson is one of the most talked-about productions on Broadway right now. The “Big, Black, & Queer-Ass American Musical” received 11 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical and made L Morgan Lee become the first openly trans person nominated in an acting category.
A Strange Loop centers on Usher, a Black, queer writer who is trying to create a musical based on a Black, queer writer - see where the name of the musical comes from? The production first premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 2019 and made a pit stop in Washington, D.C. Now, it’s back in New York City at the Lyceum Theatre.
What is A Strange Loop about?
The musical tells us the story of Usher, whose day job is working as an usher at The Lion King on Broadway. His dream is to be a successful queer musical writer, but he struggles to grow professionally because of the lack of opportunities for Black, queer artists. Usher is also dealing with his own self-destructive thoughts that are personified in the musical by a six-person ensemble - all Black and queer. The play also brings in discussion themes like self-acceptance, sexuality, identity, and body image.
How to get tickets for A Strange Loop?
Tickets for A Strange Loop are now on sale starting at $49 on TodayTix, on their official website and you can also find good deals for sale on Event Tickets Center.
A Strange Loop Lottery:
To join the lottery for A Strange Loop you need to register online to get a chance to buy a ticket for $39 (plus $4 service charge). You can click here for more information.
How long is A Strange Loop?
A Strange Loop runs 1 hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission, which is a short running time for standard Broadway musicals.
A Strange Loop Tony Nominations 2022
Best Musical - Michael R. Jackson
Best Book of a Musical - Michael R. Jackson
Best Original Score - Michael R. Jackson
Best Actor in a Musical - Jaquel Spivey
Best Featured Actor in a Musical - John-Andrew Morrison
Best Featured Actress in a Musical - L Morgan Lee
Best Direction of a Musical - Stephen Brackett
Best Scenic Design of a Musical - Arnulfo Maldonado
Best Lighting Design of a Musical- Jen Schriever
Best Sound Design of a Musical - Drew Levy
Best Orchestrations - Charlie Rosen
A Strange Loop Reviews:
So far, A Strange Loop has pleased the theater critics for the way it innovates in telling a story that is so important for society right now.
EW: “It's a story that emphasizes the importance of persevering even amid crippling self-doubt and self-hatred, that reminds us that those voices in our head can undermine our own greatness, that challenges us to confront some of the unresolved relationships in our lives to find healing, and that shows us that there is change possible in the seemingly endless cycle of hopelessness.”
Variety: “It also marks a meta sort of triumph, for a striver who tells us he wants to create a “big Black and queer-ass American Broadway show.” This production of “A Strange Loop,” from the original director Stephen Brackett, has been scaled up to be just that. There’s more polish to the black-brick doorways and succession of light-lined prosceniums that frame the stage, a richer atmosphere to the hazy planes of color that vivify Usher’s psyche (set design is by Arnulfo Maldonado and lighting by Jen Schriever).”
The Guardian: “The show’s lead, Jaquel Spivey, so rawly captures the debasement that undergirds much of Usher’s life without betraying Usher as a complete victim to his circumstances. Spivey is sharp and sarcastic, but also wounded, rounded out into the whole person that Usher wants so badly to be but doesn’t realize he already is.”
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In 2022, the NYC Dyke March’s theme is D4T: Dykes for Trans Liberation, focusing on T4T (trans for trans) relationships and love in a year when the trans community is being heavily targeted by right-wing groups and members of congress all over the United States.