A Strange Loop (Broadway) (2022)

Michael R Jackson's long-gestating passion project is certainly the blackest, queerest show to ever hit a Broadway stage. Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway show is actually an excellent descriptor for A Strange Loop. Emphasis on the "American", claiming its place in the canon of American musicals, telling a uniquely American story. While the traditional gatekeepers may have kept this from ever seeing a stage, Broadway is all the better for it. It's nothing like the usual American stories we see on stage. And it's not really for your typical Midwestern white tourist family Broadway audience. It is wildly profane, if not visually graphic. It's not family-friendly, and yet I also feel like the high school generation will appreciate it more than the typical retiree theatergoer. 

I will say that the sound mixing in the Lyceum Theater was terrible.  I missed a lot of Jackson's clever lyrics in the catchy music. Maybe the actors aren't mic-ed right, or the band was too loud or our seats were too high or what but the lyrics didn't come through clearly and it's a shame because they're really funny. The Lyceum balcony is very steep. When I walked in to the theater, the curtain was down with the title of the show in small type-writer font, making me a little worried. But when the curtain raised, the actors stood front and center, and they actually weren't that far away; the fonts were a trick of the eye. The action also largely stays at the front of the stage, making most every seat in the house full view. It's a mostly minimalist set, save for one extravagant set piece at the end. 

The tight seven-person cast is all excellent. The young Jaquel Spivey is fresh out of college in his Broadway debut. He is on stage for most of the 110 minute runtime, sometimes with his back to the audience (interesting choice). His six Thoughts all play double duty. All six of them play multiple characters, both men and women, characters of varying personas. They're all fabulously distinct. The Thought that plays Usher's mother especially stands out, John-Andrew Morrison.

Clearly inspired by Company, the show lacks a plot. It balances comedy and emotion and feels so real and personal. It's super meta. And I'll admit that it was a little too clever for me. Though Usher explains the title multiple times, the title still went over my head. It's brilliant, but I need some help with the analysis. We'll have to revisit this down the road.