The Big, Gay, Musical Carousel: ‘A Strange Loop’
Do you have mean little thoughts in your head that stop you from making art? Or finding a better job? Do they yell at you as you peer in the mirror and tell you that, unlike Barbie’s Ken, you will never be enough? For Usher (well played by Alvis Green Jr.), the main character in Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize winning “A Strange Loop,” those thoughts become six characters and they have A LOT to say.
(front) Malachi McCaskill(Usher) with (L-R)
Jordan Barbour (Thought 5),Avionce Hoyles (Thought 3), John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), and J. Cameron Barnett (Thought 2) in A Strange Loop, performing at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater now through May 12, 2024. Photo credit: Alessandra Mello.
“A Strange Loop” opened on April 24, at American Conservatory Theater’s Toni Rembe Theater. This thought-provoking musical is about an usher, called Usher who works at the Broadway production of The Lion King. He tells us that he is a fat, black, gay musical theater writer writing a musical about a fat, black, gay musical theater writer writing a musical about…well, you know. As the show’s writer Michael R. Jackson possesses these attributes, and as friendly ushers man the doors of the Toni Rembe Theater, one might say that the show is the mega meta-musical of our times.
As Usher struggles with his loathsome job, his inner white girl, and his dreams of breaking into the very white world of Broadway his six “thoughts” continue to break into his narrative. They remind him of his self-loathing, his undesirability on dating apps, and his financial instability. The “thoughts” appear and reappear in different roles. Hilarious, sneaky, and sometimes unabashedly cruel, the “thoughts” flesh out Usher’s existence for us. Usher’s extremely religious and cis-gendered parents do not approve of his lifestyle. They can’t be bothered with the creative, gay son that they have. They visit us in many iterations during the play.
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All the while, Usher is fighting the monoliths of Tyler Perry and The Lion King as the only forms of acceptable black entertainment. He dreams of writing a “Big, Black, Queer-Ass American Broadway Show”. Those are actually some of the lyrics and they are extremely catchy. I’m gonna warn you right now that there are a lot of songs in this production that you absolutely cannot be caught singing out loud (See Inwood Daddy).
(L-R):J. Cameron Barnett (Thought 2),Tarra Conner Jones (Thought 1), Jamari Johnson Williams (Thought 6),John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), Malachi McCaskill (Usher), Jordan Barbour (Thought 5), and Avionce Hoyles (Thought 3) in A Strange Loop, performing at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater now through May 12, 2024. Photo credit: Alessandra Mello
This treacherous inner landscape, directed by Stephen Brackett, allows for each of the “thoughts” to shine. J. Cameron Barnett as Thought 2 moves effortlessly from one role to another in a kaleidoscope of talent. Thought 5, played by Jordan Barbour, will break your heart as the drunk father who will ask Usher many times if he desires him. This gave me ick each time, yet the story persisted to drive the point home.
Usher seeks his parents’ approval in a variety of different ways before landing on the exciting little ditty that he writes for them entitled “Precious Little Dream/AIDS is God’s Punishment”. Spoiler alert, the parents don’t approve and Usher’s quest for acceptance begins again.
(front) Malachi McCaskill (Usher) with Tarra Conner Jones (Thought 1), Jordan Barbour (Thought 5), John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), Avionce Hoyles (Thought 3), J. Cameron Barnett (Thought 2), and Jamari Johnson Williams (Thought 6) in
A Strange Loop, performing at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater now through May 12, 2024. Photo credit: Alessandra Mello
Emotive lighting design by Jen Schriever allows the story to unfold for us before falling in on itself and unfolding again. At the end, we are all asking how many times Usher can deny his own agency. The “Thoughts” point this out to much laughter. Everything and nothing happens on this odyssey of self-reflection. If the 1921 play by Luigi Pirandello “Six Characters in Search of an Author” and “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett were to birth a queer black musical, they would be proud parents of “A Strange Loop”. This is absolutely not an easy musical but it is an interesting one and worthy of exploration.
“A Strange Loop” Directed by Stephen Brackett will play through May 12 at the Toni Rembe Theater.
For tickets visit their website.
