Theater Review: ‘A Strange Loop’ Is A Risky, Shocking, Thrilling Theatrical Experience

A Strange Loop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Michael R. Jackson, is everything Broadway is not — risky, shocking, hilarious, dangerous, thrilling. The meta-meta musical ostensibly follows Usher, an – you got it – usher at The Lion King on Broadway on his journey trying to pen a musical about a black gay man trying to write a Broadway play. Usher, played to perfection by Jaquel Spivey in his first professional role, is tormented by his doubts that are manifested by six crackerjack actors – played by L Morgan Lee, James Jackson Jr., John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison, Jason Veasey and Antwayn Hopper – as well his mother who just wants him to write like Tyler Perry (who is mercilessly skewered throughout the show).

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What follows is hard to believe – and it’s so daring and out-there that you have to pinch yourself to believe you are watching a Broadway show. His doubts about his writing, racial identity, body and self-worth are just some of the multitude of topics explored. It ain’t for the prudish – the show is filled with explicit talk about gay sex – or those seeking comforting show tunes. But great theater often means getting outside one’s comfort zone. A Strange Loop really awakens viewers to the possibilities of theater by confounding expectations of what a Broadway show really can be.

A Strange Loop is now playing on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. Get your tickets now.

Article by Erik Meers

Erik Meers is the founder and editor of uInterview.com, uPolitics.com and uSports.org. He was previously managing editor of GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Interview and Paper magazines.