- One Mans Opinion Episode 75: A Strange Loop on Broadway
- A Strange Loop might be the best show on Broadway
- A Strange Loop 4-25-2022
- A Strange Loop | REVIEW
- Michael R. Jackson Spent 18 Years Working on A Strange Loop
- A Performance from A Strange Loop: Intermission Song | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
- Playwright Michael R. Jackson on Broadways “A Strange Loop”
One Mans Opinion Episode 75: A Strange Loop on Broadway
there are many abusers that cross our,lives sometimes theyre family sometimes,theyre from the community around us,sometimes theyre a complete stranger,sometimes its someone you can never,escape yourself,[Music],[Applause],[Music],hello and welcome to episode 75 of one,mans opinion where i review,professional theater in new york and,connecticut today i am reviewing a,strange loop a new musical by michael r,jackson directed by steven brackett and,choreographed by raja feather kelly with,performances at the lyceum theater at,149 west 45th street in new york,[Music],[Music],broadway,[Music],i find it kind of amazing that my two,favorite new shows this season have,similar foundations granted i still have,one more to see at the time of this,video being made,thoughts of a colored band in a strange,loop both focus on the inner workings,and the complexities of the mind of,men of color whereas thoughts of a,colored man has a broader canvas a,strange loop is the detail that goes,into one person on that canvas a strange,loop stars jaquel spivey as usher a,young gay black man who is an actual,usher at the broadway production of the,lion king and loves being in touch with,what he likes to call his inner white,girl,he is also an aspiring musical composer,who is working on a new musical called a,strange loop a meta-textual piece about,a young gay black man writing a musical,while attempting to craft his art he is,hounded by his thoughts portrayed by the,other six actors in the show they are,all supposed to portray different parts,of his psyche but there are so many,different characters they end up,portraying along the way it is easier to,just remind yourself that every other,character in the play,are not real people but representations,of people as they manifest in his,consciousness and this is what unlocks,the genius of michael r jacksons piece,there are scenes throughout the musical,with usher and his mom or his dad or the,old white man he hooks up with in inwood,and more these arent the real people in,his life but how they exist in his,thoughts,but as i was told early in my training,when i was in the navy perception is 90,percent of reality it doesnt matter if,his parents really arent homophobic,conservative christians who want him to,not write shows supporting sinful ideas,and write the next tyler perry show it,doesnt matter if the aforementioned man,in inwood isnt a racist bigot,what matters is that in ushers reality,they are these things in the show,because that is how their reactions,reflect themselves upon him,he sees himself as too dark skin too fat,too ugly because he remembers all the,time people have told him as much,these abuses and more compound on usher,who is looking for acceptance and,because he cant find it in the world he,cant find it in himself either,as my fiancee said after the show you,just want to give him a big hug and let,him know hes loved spivey was born for,this role he is so wonderful he nails,the insecure and mid-20s gay black man,with lots of dreams and no one there to,encourage him as much as he expresses,hope to the audience about his dreams,and ambitions he layers it with doubts,and fear and isolation bracket has done,a great job directing the broadway,newcomer and giving the actor the,confidence to bear so much of a soul on,stage,jacksons music is fantastic songs like,in her white girl and aids is gods,punishment are knockouts that are both,emotionally driven but also have a,deeper layer of depth in ushers mind,and where these songs emanate from,within him,a strange loop is going to shock some,inspire others and may even offend some,there is some strong sexual content and,one simulated sex scene between two men,i would encourage everyone to see a,strange loop though regardless of your,sensitivities because youre not the,only one with sensitivities,so are people like usher who is told by,everyone around him how worthless he is,see the ugly side of ourselves and how,people walk away remembering what we say,and how we say it,how we unintentionally or otherwise,demean and debase another person because,they are different,we may not intend to be mean-spirited or,intend to bring a person down with our,words and actions but sometimes we do,as the almost cliche goes we dont know,what someone else is going through a,strange loop sometimes delicately,sometimes aggressively has us face our,victim usher,through both the little things and the,big,it is a moving passionate funny and,sometimes tragic musical,well done but im only one mans opinion,so be sure to leave yours in the,comments below if youre interested in,seeing a strange loop ill leave a link,in the description where you can,purchase tickets show your support for,my channel by liking sharing and,subscribing,and hit the notification bell to be,alerted for future reviews my next,review will be the revival of thornton,wilders play the skin of our teeth,thank you for watching and i will see,you at the theater,[Music],[Applause],[Music],you
A Strange Loop might be the best show on Broadway
if you were to ask me what show to watch,on broadway right now i would tell you a,strange loop it is so,good so good to the point where i dont,even understand how it made it to,broadway it is the most original most,raw most incredible thing i have ever,seen in a very very long time and,honestly if you miss it,you might regret it hey my name is,amanda and im really into theater and,if you are too subscribe its free,[Music],a strange loop is about a young queer,black man named usher who works as a,broadway usher who spends his free time,writing a musical about a guy writing a,musical about a guy writing musical,about a guy writing a musical at least,thats what the show is about at its,surface level really the musical tackles,homophobia sexual desire,and the longing to be more than what you,are and whether or not one can actually,change throughout the show we see usher,figuring out these concepts with his,thoughts present on stage his thoughts,manifest as real people in his life and,at times it could feel a little jarring,for example there is a moment in the,show where usher recounts the time he,spent the night with the white man and,left feeling worse than when the night,started usher and the nameless white man,who isnt actually white on stage,because the show features an all-black,cast have sex and while theyre having,sex the white man repeatedly calls him,the n-word usher later laments about,wanting to be with a black man but cant,because of internalized homophobia,within the black community for usher,being with a white man is his way of,getting the love that he craves however,shallow it may feel at the moment so,thats just one moment where the show is,like ridiculously uncomfortable but,it just gets more uncomfortable from,there after he reluctantly takes on the,job of being a ghost writer for tyler,perrys upcoming gospel play usher,decides to write it in a way that feels,true to him,he writes a song an upbeat gospel song,that declares that aids is gods,punishment for the existence of gay,people,the song is meant to be satire but his,mother a really religious woman,doesnt see it that way she takes it,that usher is finally changing and,moving away from his evil ways,my mouth was on the floor the entire,time because this segment was played up,to a t im talking gospel robes flashing,lights harmonies,it was a lot it was a lot but throughout,that entire bit,we could feel ushers pain,he longs for his family to understand,him but knows that they wont no matter,what he does the gospel play is just his,way of trying to convince his family,that their religious views are damaging,usher wants them to change but deep down,he knows that they cant so im left,with three questions right these are the,three questions that were running,through my mind,while watching the show is there a point,to changing oneself,is change worth it,or is it even real,are we all stuck in an illusion of,change with no real escape the show,doesnt offer a solution or an answer i,should say rather to the audience but,usher does discover an answer to this,problem and im not going to tell you,what the answer is because i want yall,to see the show,i loved this production i love it i love,it i love it i love it i love it when i,started this video i told you all that,if there was one show that you asked me,you had to see right now,my answer would be a strange loot,theres a reason for that,its because its that good it is great,it is meta it is original it is raw it,is sincere,it is,so,beautiful and like theres no,question its obvious why the show won a,pulitzer because its its written so,beautifully and so well i think my,favorite thing about the show though is,just the way the story was structured,and the fact that thoughts were being,used in order to communicate the story,right there were moments where i forgot,that the thoughts were just that,thoughts completely forgot that they,were thoughts and like it led me to,think how many times,have we altered,people in our minds,to either fit,what we think of them or exaggerate,parts that already exist within them,all the time and thats why i feel like,the show is so,interesting and so well done and it got,me to thinking that maybe,you know obviously usher is totally,valid in the way that he thinks you know,but maybe his family can change i dont,know i dont know thats thats why this,show is so crazy because you can watch,it and apply it to your own life,you know i mean,theres always this i as an audience,member have this hope that maybe,maybe usher they will change but after,that major like tyler perry gospel play,i dont know some people are just stuck,in their ways and,what can you do and thats what the,quest thats thats what that play asks,you know can people change can people,change,i say only if you want to only if they,want to and some people dont,you know usher has his own thoughts and,his own ideas and its its really fun,to explore and to see,usher develop those thoughts with his,thoughts on stage thats what makes it,beautiful thats what makes it beautiful,its crazy because,you know you watch this and you think,how could this be a broadway i mean i,watched this and i thought how could,this be a broadway show i thought that,because,for me,it is one of the most,rawest,most sincere,most black thing ive seen on stage,and i just couldnt imagine it,being performed,for,you know generally a white audience,because,lets face it most broadway audiences,are are are filled with white people,so i just didnt understand how it was,made for the stage and to see so many,people connect with it,it was really interesting its really,interesting its a lot of fun and im,happy that people are connecting with it,and im happy that the show exists,because like i said it,offers a refreshing point of view that,we dont see on stage like how many off,the top of your head how many shows have,you seen about fat queer black men,talking about,sincere things going through their minds,going through their hearts,you dont see that you dont you dont,get that point of view,and if you do its very rare so to see,it on a stage like this is incredible,and its so,so so needed,its so important its and even besides,the fact that its important,its just a great show overall you know,like i can i can see some people saying,well you have to see the show because,its important yes its important and,its a great show its like both hand in,hand you know they go they go together,if you dont want to think of,the deeper meaning of the show yeah you,dont want to think about that go,because the show is that good the,production is that good the songs are,that good everything about it its fun,its fresh,go see it for that either way i dont,see no reason for you not to go see the,show to be real with you so yeah thats,thats my thats my thoughts on a,strange loop it is an incredibly,raw powerful story on broadway that i,think everyone needs to see especially,if youre black go watch a strange loop,and um,yeah thats it i i really hope that i,was able to communicate how much i loved,the show like i was cheesing the entire,time during this video,but um,yeah man i,i just really like the show i think its,really good and it just left me wanting,more and it left me wanting to go up and,hug usher like ah usher,i want to hug you man i want to hug you,i know a hug is not going to solve,everything but please let me hold you,anyway in the comments below what are,your thoughts on a strange loop what are,your thoughts um i want to know them,have you seen exchange loop what did you,think,and are you,in a strange loop of your own,let me know and as always thanks for,watching,[Music],you
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A Strange Loop 4-25-2022
a strange loop,you all yes i got the shirt a strange,loop,i had to,oh my god,um,first off somebodys got to show me how,to fix my computer coloring because this,is my color purple this is bright purple,and it comes off blue i dont get it,anyway i dont care a strange loop you,guys,wow,im blown away,i mean i went in with high expectations,i really did because the buzz has been,incredible you know i follow a lot of,the blogs and stuff so ive been hearing,about the show before i got to new york,but,the show got closed during pro,previews because of covet,and,its a small cast its seven characters,um,theres usher and then theres six,others that are the thoughts and theyre,the thoughts inside ushers brain um,and so kovids been going through,broadway you know the last month and a,half and so its really been struggling,its a small show its in a small,auditorium the theater the lyceum,which i happen to love uh very intimate,um anyway so theres been buzz but,theres been,you know but i get up here in new york,and,im hearing it even bigger its just,wild its all anyway,so i had high expectations coming to see,the show,so what is a strange loop,well a strange loop,and i already posted this kind of but,im going to do it again,is about a,young,black,overweight,gay man,writing a musical,about a young,black overweight gay man,writing a musical,about,a young,black gay overweight man i didnt off,the road writing a musical get the loop,thats the loop thats the strange loop,um,and the characters name is usher,and,just so happens hes an usher in a,broadway theater,and hes wanting to be a composer hes,wanting to write a show,and you know they say write what you,know and so he has these,six thoughts these six voices in his,head if you will which you know was not,hard for me to latch onto that concept,because i have more than six in my head,girl,and all of the ones he had are up there,you know like theres the im here to,remind you about self-loathing you are,nothing and yeah i have that voice,um,anyway,um,so he starts communicating with the,voices and he starts getting to work on,the show but whats the show about its,about writing the show,and,im going to skip to the end or kind of,the end,its a hundred minutes long musical,through the entire show usher narrates,and leads us through the entire journey,the thoughts play all these different,characters his parents his,friends the people from his past the,pastor the cousin blah blah,he deals with all the facets of himself,being gay,being black being overweight being,unattractive dealing with sexuality,dealing with trying to tell his family,about it,uh dealing with the black,and and dealing with what that means,um young and being a theater kid and,loving theater and all of this stuff he,deals with it yet all the way through,the play,he refers to himself in a third person,until the end,when he finally learns to take the,ownership and say i,yeah,it got me this show,um,im not black but i,relate to a lot of it and i relate in,different ways to,that and,all right i can finish um sorry,yeah it was it was moving and it got me,um,there was a lot there was a,big scene dealing with um,religion,and gay,and parents and mother that um,so,he had a lot of,im gonna finish this yall just stick,with me,heres the thing im just going to tell,you the cool things about the show,this play right,michael r jackson,this is his first play yall,well its his first this is his broadway,debut his broadway debut,is a freaking pulitzer prize winning,play,musical i mean it it so in 2019,it uh debuted off-broadway uh,playwrights horizons um and was,nominated for the pulitzer prize in 2020,and won,and the,drama critics award and one,and of course was headed to broadway in,covid and we all know what happened in,in 2020 blah blah blah and this show is,finally on broadway this is this kids,broadway debut,and it is garnering the praise like,crazy um,i mean the show hasnt opened yet,and when the theater went quiet,for the show to start,we lost our minds okay,um,there were moments in the play that,the actors are holding because our,applause was so deafening and then there,were moments,that you could hear the crinkle of a,persons water bottle or shuffling of,feet,because we were so concentrated on what,was being said and the emotion,and the and the realness the realness,thats why its got me the realness okay,so,cast,shaquille spivey plays usher,broadway debut,this kid just graduated college,and he is starring in a broadway musical,of the six,thoughts in your head that they come,thought one two three four five six,three of them are making their broadway,debuts theres like four understudies,three of them are making broadway debuts,this is raw brand new talent coming to,broadway with a new,uh writer composer um did he do the um,did he do the lyrics yeah i think he he,um hold on where is it uh michael,jackson book lyrics and music he he did,it all,wow follow this guy,this show,amazing a strange loop im so lucky that,i got to see it im so blessed,that i get to live this life and to do,these things and to,see this intense and incredible and,entertaining and thought-provoking,um,theater,you know,[Music],i i,being up here,alone um and doing the whole sober thing,is still hard it really is im only 10,months and its still hard,and,you drink so that you dont deal with,your emotions and you dont deal with,the crap,is that what causes you to drink thats,for me,and often many people who suffer from,substance abuse disorder,um,so im going to these shows and im,experiencing these emotions and its,cathartic but it brings the stuff up and,you,if youre not,crawling in a bottle then you got to,deal with it,um and uh the this show,um brought up some stuff that im gonna,be dealing with but thats all right,i got me a turkey sandwich,i got me a bag of doritos yes amy a bag,of doritos im gonna eat the entire,freaking bag tonight and a diet coke im,gonna put on a movie on the tv and im,gonna,let myself be,it was a great night,im so,i hope you all dont think im silly,because it was a great night,and i love,being able to share it with you guys it,really means a lot that i get to share,this with yall,it really does,so thank you very much oh,and speaking of sobriety,i was searching for a restaurant its,monday night ill most of the theaters,are closed on mondays and so a lot of,the restaurants in the theater district,are closed on mondays so i wanted a nice,dinner and i struggled i found a mexican,place ive never been to,the name of the mexican place,titos,of course,and you know what,i,had my dinner,and i honestly i laughed at the irony of,the place being called titos but i,didnt even want a tito,um,well at least not the drink okay,all right,good night you all
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A Strange Loop | REVIEW
so i got a chance to see a strange loop,a pelican winning broadway play and this,was my first time ever seeing any,broadway play,and grum shook yall never know what,time it is,[Music],so whats going on you all i want to,talk about a strange loop by michael r,jackson i got a chance to go to new york,to see the broadway show and i was like,okay girl this is my first time im not,coming with any type of nothing i didnt,read anything about the play ive heard,like some things as far as like reviews,a little bit but it just people just,saying whats good so someone reached,out to me they said justin you have to,see this this is a lot of things that,you talk about you talk about living,with hiv you talk about anti-fatness you,talk about colorism you talk about,dating and all these things and im like,girl what you mean she said hey,this play is talking about these things,that you discuss and i was like okay im,finding out that the main character his,name is usher is fat and dark skinned i,was like girl hold up like,they have the main character being a fat,dark-skinned person like whats the,catch,whats the catch like girl whats what,you mean so i was interested and going,to see it let me just tell you,a strange loop,is exactly what it is like like a loop a,loop a loopy to do so the reason why i,say that is because you have this main,character his name is usher and he is a,writer hes trying to come up with his,own you know broadway show is hes,trying to write his own stuff while also,working,as an usher in a broad way,on broadway and,this is like this is him dealing with,you know his family,his black family,and specifically his black family and,the world of hey,black folks are supposed to do you know,you know be happy about an opportunity,to work with tyler perry now,you all know i every once in a while,enjoy a little criticism of tyler perry,so this was definitely a criticism a,critique of tyler perry uh and just how,tyler perry was able to do the things,that he was doing and everyone thinks,that thats how,your broadway uh you know shows should,be like everyone thinks that okay girl,if youre gonna do a show it has to be,like tyler perry because thats what the,people like,and,this was like a slight mild critique one,day because uh sure the main character,wanted to do his own thing and he,graduated from nyu and his family is,just pressuring him,to you know hey,you need to go work with tyler pierre,because thats where the money is and,his parents are kind of like you know,track him a little bit and say hey,we,we pay for you to be in school and you,need to be getting these checks you need,to be working with tyler perry because,this was the corner and i sure just,doesnt want to do this so im not going,to completely like spoil the whole thing,but thats kind of like a little bit of,synopsis and stuff but i will say,that this was a play that encouraged,conversation and i can appreciate that i,can appreciate,a play thats making me think and not,necessarily put me to sleep like i did,not get tired of anything i i i feel,like the actors and actresses did a,really really good job of telling the,story of this main character like you,had i think my favorite part was the,self-loathing part where you had this,character was coming out of ushers mind,it was like just dragging him into his,inner thoughts on himself and and that,reminds me of my like my feelings about,myself sometimes when its just like oh,girl no ones interested in you nobodys,interested this is that and you have,these characters like these many,representations of like things in the,mind that you like your emotions being,played by these people coming and saying,hey girl like basically up somewhere,uplifting some were dragging someones,being honest and i was like okay this is,really this is really good now,i was told that there was like you know,a little bit of trigger warning for,people living with hiv,uh and like because as a person thats,living with hiv uh they inform me like,hey girl like this is going to be,theres gonna be some stuff and then you,saw,i saw what it was and i wasnt,necessarily triggered but i i did,realize that it could be triggering for,some folks because you have to you know,you have a situation where,i dont want to spoil it but,someone was having a conversation it was,just like you need to be making sure,that youre not out here catching the,aids or the hiv you need to be like,thats you dont need to be doing any of,these things,and also this character is like going to,the doctor like im not even having sex,and the doctors even shook the doctors,like what you make youre not getting in,you need to be out here again you need,to be getting it in and,it reminded me and this is kind of,personal of a conversation that i had i,talked about this in an interview,uh with some of the cast and also,michael r jackson i was brilliant,interviews 45 minutes so i really really,enjoyed that conversation it was like,doing a podcast so i encourage you all,to check it out so it reminded me of the,conversation i had with my mother when i,first told her that i tested positive,for hiv and she was just like i thought,you were doing everything that she was,supposed to do to protect yourself you,told me its gonna protect yourself and,i was like i am protecting myself i am,protecting myself because now ive,tested positive and now im gonna go get,on treatment and take care of myself,that is a part of the protection so you,have this person just like you dont,want to be,uh,not necessarily the like the stigma but,you dont want to be you dont want to,be a stereotype uh because that is a,stereotype of all you know gay men or a,gay black man,youre going to eventually catch the hiv,and we even saw that with you know they,named one like family member who,allegedly had it and it was,it touched me because,i had a,family member who passed away in the 90s,who i didnt really know i think his,name was,now that i think about its coming to me,now and it was just a like a running,conversation about him you know having,aids and um the folks would just hey,stay away from him and all the other,stuff so it was just,it it went there,it definitely went there um now,there was this like thing with the main,character trying to find his way as a,dark-skinned fat,um individual and you know when i say,the term fat i dont say that as a,derogatory way im just saying it to,describe this character because i am fat,too but,with this character you saw him,trying to date,he was trying today and find love and he,just didnt know where to find it at now,i was dragging a little bit because of,like okay usher is on all of the apps,except jack and im like why is us,should not on jack its like you know,because everyone knows that jack is,supposed to be,the app where a lot of black men be on,other apps you know are kind of like,grinder growler and all the other stuff,they mentioned its where you know kind,of the leather white me and b on and all,the other stuff so you know there was a,part of the scene,where usher did meet up with one of,these people uh and it was,that was a lot that was a lot but it was,it made me think and take this and have,a conversation,with other folks who,feel like that they cannot date,um black men because black men are not,you know necessarily like loving them or,find attractive find them attractive so,they go and you know maybe date a white,man whos accepting of them,or thinking people think they think that,theyre accepting them but its not,because when they were engaging,in the things um he was saying some like,nasty stuff and im just like,wow ive never had that experience,before as a black gay man im like,like ive never had the experience my,politics to to date black gay men but i,i know some people who have,experienced that and felt like they were,not loved by a black gay man but i feel,like its a bigger conversation of why,is that um and who gets to have that,conversation so i do have some small,criticisms um and i think that is i,w
Michael R. Jackson Spent 18 Years Working on A Strange Loop
-Our next guest is a Pulitzer Prize-winning,and Tony-nominated playwright,whose critically acclaimed new musical “A Strange Loop”,is currently on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater.,Fresh off the musicals 11 Tony nominations,,please welcome to the show, Michael R. Jackson, everybody.,[ Cheers and applause ],♪♪,♪♪,How are you, Michael? -Im doing pretty great, Seth.,-Youve already won a Pulitzer.,You are now nominated 11 times for the Tony Award.,Is it sinking in exactly how people have responded,to your show?,-Its sinking.,I dont know if its quite gotten there yet,,but its there.,-It is really, really exciting.,And I think one of the things thats coolest about this show,is when people comment on it, they stress how unique it is.,Were you setting out to make a show that was unique,,compared to what we tend to find on Broadway?,-I mean, when I first set out to work on this show,,I was 23 years old.,I was just writing, like, a sort of life raft for myself.,So I dont — and I definitely wanted it to be,,you know, specific and and nuanced and complex,,but I had no real thoughts,about what anybody else would think about it.,-So did that put less pressure on you, because you werent,setting out to, you know,,make this thing that would take the world by storm?,-Yeah, because like back then, no one cared who I was.,[ Laughter ] Like, at all.,So I was like, Ill just do whatever I want.,-And youve referred to it,as not autobiographical, but self-referential.,What is the distinction there?,-For me, autobiography sort of suggests,that theres a 1-to-1 ratio of events to my life,,and I would say its more emotionally autobiographical.,I felt everything that the protagonist feels,,but we have different life experiences,and the details are different.,-So it is about an usher named Usher?,-Mm-hmm. -You were a Broadway usher.,-I was, indeed.,-Do you feel like that was a skill,,or an experience, I should say,,that made you more skilled in trying to write,a musical like this?,-Yes, because I didnt want to usher anymore,,so I needed to write something that could, like,,propel me out of that life.,-Yeah, but would you –,I mean, did you get a chance,to see show after show after show?,-Oh, I saw more than show after show after show.,I mean, I was like constantly at the back,,you know, at the back of the house of “The Lion King”,night after night, watching the animals,,watching the animals.,Watching, you know, the people down the aisles.,-Usher in the show names names.,There are some real people that are commented on.,-For sure. -Did you think,in the writing, ever,,”Oh, I might have to take this out one day if –“,-I did, and then, like –,there was this one draft where I think I changed,the name to like, “Skyler Terry.”,And I was like, and then my director was like,,”Get the hell out of here. Youre not doing that.”,So we left it the same.,And then ever since then, I felt like I had full permission.,-Thats very nice.,So the song tonight is called “Inner White Girl.”,And so, again, this is self-referential.,This is something that is true of you.,Can you speak a little bit about what this song is about?,-Yeah, I sort of as a teenager, was like,,as angsty as you could get.,And I was like, just coming out and, like, feeling,,you know, sad and emo all the time.,And of course, into Tori Amos via my cousin who, like,,gave me her first two albums,,”Little Earthquakes” and “Under the Pink.”,And I sort of one night turned all the lights off,,put my headphones on, get under the covers,,and then Tori Amos starts singing to me,,and I was a goner.,[ Laughter ],-We were also talking backstage about,our shared love affair for Liz Phair as well.,-Yeah, Liz Phair was in my twenties,,when I was just feeling, like, even more emo,,but a little more punk rock about it.,-Yeah.,-And, like, wandering around New York City,,just like, hating everything in my life and everyone.,And Liz is really good music to have for you,,for that and on that.,-Yeah, I agree.,I think shes the closest thing I have,to an inner white girl, is Liz Phair.,That is the most Ive listened to on headphones.,I feel like she makes you feel very cool,for hating everything.,-She does, because she has such a, like,,a really badass sense of humor and a lot of candor,as she sort of speaks about her experiences,through the characters in her songs.,-This is also very exciting.,Its no Pulitzer, mind you,,but you saw Tori Amos in concert last night.,-Yes.,-Tonight you are going again, backstage.,Youre going to meet her for the first time.,-Im gonna meet her tonight.,-How do you think its going to go?,What are you worried about or excited about?,-Im worried that I might, you know, cry all over…,[ Laughter ],…like, everything that shes wearing,and make a complete imbecile of myself.,-What are her expectations?,Is she aware of what a big part of the show she is,and a big part of your story?,-I dont think so.,I think Ive kept that pretty close to the vest,,because then she might not let me come back and see her.,[ Laughter ],-Now, after the success of the show,,it must be so exciting.,It was this Monday when you find out about all the nominations.,Like, do you now have –,what is your anticipation leading up to the Tonys?,Is it mostly just excitement?,Do you think youll get nervous as it gets closer?,-Ill definitely get nervous,,but its excitement, for me, because, like,,I get to celebrate so many of the people in my company.,And that, for me, in a lot of ways,,was way more exciting than any nomination I got,,because Ive been working with a lot of these people,in the cast for up to 15 years, and on this show.,And so, getting to celebrate them,,for me, is going to be, like, the best part.,-So this is, I mean, I think this is really –,because I think people might read about this show,and hear about this show and think that this was, like,,an overnight success. -Oh, yeah. So overnight.,-I think thats a really important thing for people.,-Yeah, George W. Bush had like, just been re-elected –,re-elected or elected, when I was first working on this.,-Yeah, so sometimes I think its a good –,I dont know, a good reminder that sometimes you have to,put your nose to the grindstone and push through a lot of stuff.,-Yeah, I think, like, for me,,the thing that I learned about making art,in working on this piece is that its worth it to take your time.,And thats something I always tell, like, young students,when I talk to them, and theyre ready,to, like, put their work on an assembly line and for it to,,you know, chart number one 2 minutes later,,Im like, “No, I spent 18 years working on a musical,,so good luck.”,[ Laughter ],-Do you think if you looked back –,I mean, Im sure you still have it,,but how massively different is what it is now,versus the first time you put it down on the page?,-I mean, its different in the sense that,,like, when I started it, it was a monologue,,and now its a musical.,But, like, the core ideas and the feelings that,I was trying to capture are the same.,So Ive been sort of really trying to track that,all the way from the beginning.,-Well, Im very excited that we get to see,a performance tonight.,And thank you so much for being here.,Congratulations on everything.,-Michael R. Jackson, everybody.,”A Strange Loop” is playing at the Lyceum Theater,,and you can now stream tracks,from the Broadway cast recording.
A Performance from A Strange Loop: Intermission Song | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
-Here to perform “Intermission Song,”,please welcome the cast of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical,,”A Strange Loop.”,[ Cheers and applause ],♪ -Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,-♪ Is that how the show should open? ♪,-♪ Should there even be a show? ♪,-♪ No, it should start with what hes thinking ♪,-♪ Which is just a cursor blinking ♪,-♪ Cause of all of the directions ♪,♪ That the narrative could go ♪,-♪ He wants to show what its like to live up here ♪,♪ And travel the world in a fat, black, queer body ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪ No one cares about a writer who is struggling to write ♪,-♪ Theyll say its way too repetitious ♪,-♪ And so overly ambitious ♪,-♪ Which, of course, makes them suspicious ♪,-♪ That youre trying to be white! ♪,-♪ He has to fight for his right to live in a world ♪,♪ That chews up and spits out ♪,♪ Black queers on the daily ♪,-♪ Blackness, queerness fighting back ♪,♪ To fill this cis-het, all-white space ♪,♪ With a portrait of a portrait ♪,♪ Of a portrait of a black, queer face ♪,♪ And a choir full of black, queer voices ♪,♪ Treble clef ♪ -♪ And also bass ♪,-♪ That are casting spells to conjure up ♪,-♪ A big, black and queer-ass American Broadway ♪,-♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway ♪,♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway show ♪,♪♪,♪♪,♪♪,♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪ Till he has to face the fact that he is really in a jam ♪,-♪ He has no patrons he can call on ♪,♪ Nor a backup plan to fall on ♪,-♪ Just a hamster wheel to crawl on ♪,-♪ And nobody gives a damn ♪,-♪ He tries to scramble and dodge and extricate ♪,♪ Still, his fate lies in wait ♪,♪ Like a scavenging vulture ♪,♪ All he wants is to subvert expectations ♪,♪ Black and white ♪,♪ From the left and the right ♪,♪ For the good of the culture ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪ Youre a ball of black confusion ♪,♪ That keeps hitting a plateau ♪,-♪ You cant just flout every convention ♪,-♪ Then command complete attention in a ♪,-♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway show ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪ Some say write from exploration ♪,♪ Some say just write what you know ♪,-♪ But either way you keep careening ♪,♪ So its hard to find a meaning in your ♪,-♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway show ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪ If you cant please the Caucasians ♪,♪ You will never get the dough ♪,-♪ Cause critics clinically deny us ♪,♪ Then deny implicit bias ♪,-♪ With their vanity supported by a system thats distorted ♪,-♪ Watch them write you off as lazy ♪,♪ Not to mention navel-gazey ♪,♪ Lacking both in craft and rigor ♪,-♪ Cause youre nothing but a ♪ -♪ Big, black and queer-ass ♪,-♪ Sorry about that, yall, sorry about that, yall ♪,♪ Sorry about that, man ♪,-♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway ♪,♪ Big, black and queer-ass American Broadway ♪,-♪ Usher! Usher! ♪ -♪ How many minutes till ♪,♪ The end of intermission? ♪ -♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,-♪ Usher! Usher! ♪ -♪ How many minutes till,♪ The end of intermission? ♪ -♪ Usher! Usher! ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,-♪ Usher! Usher! ♪ -♪ How many minutes till ♪,♪ The end of intermission? ♪ -♪ Oh, my God, oh, my God ♪,♪ Oh, my God ♪,♪ Oh, my God, oh, my God ♪,♪ Oh, my God, oh, my God ♪,♪ Oh, my God, oh, my God ♪,-♪ How many minutes till the end of intermission? ♪,♪♪,-♪ Less than two ♪,[ Cheers and applause ],-Less than two. The cast of “A Strange Loop”!,Come on now!,Fantastic!,Go see it on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre.,For tickets, go to strangeloopmusical.com.
Playwright Michael R. Jackson on Broadways “A Strange Loop”
the most tony nominated musical of the season is a play about a play ,and its already won a pulitzer prize rita braver is on broadway with the playwright ,behind a strange loop ♫ how many minutes till the end of intermission is that how the show ,should open should there even be a show no it should start with what hes thinking ,which is just a cursor blinking because of all of the directions that the narrative could go ,a strange loop the broadway musical thats drawn rave reviews,and 11 tony nominations centers on a very unlikely lead character ♫ i am a disney usher ,im barely scraping by my discontentment comes in many shapes and sizes but i woke up this morning ,i tell myself to try its a musical about a young black gay man named usher who is working ,as an usher at a broadway show and is writing a musical about a young black gay man named usher ,who is working as an escalator broadway show and sort of cycling through his own self-hatred ♫ five ,foot four high school gym sneaking a cupcake these are my memories these are my memories ,the entire show – book music and lyrics – was written by 41 year old michael r jackson ,no not that michael jackson this one who grew up in a middle-class family in detroit ,spent almost two decades working on the show best original score best book of a musical ,michael r jackson doesnt get any better than that doesnt get any better ,any time i look at it i like sort of have a a geek-out moment of like unbelievable joy,jackson says the musical is in part his own story ,you did work as an usher at lion king i worked at lion king mary poppins and a brief seasonal ,stand of aladdin but he says the show which includes some provocative language and graphic ,content ♫ these are my memories is more of an emotional than an actual autobiography ,surrounded by his extremely obnoxious thoughts turning his own self-doubt and hopes ,into a cast of vexing characters that embody ushers thoughts ill share surprise ,how you doing its your daily self-loathing one of the characters is called daily self-loathing ,who always sort of pops in with a smile to tell him how worthless he is or how fat and ugly he is ,the thoughts all played by actors who describe themselves as queer ,also morph into members of ushers family,who as jacksons own family once did struggle with his being gay and a budding playwright youre ,going to be in your new position and the off-stage saga of a strange loop is just as compelling as ,the on-stage story this is like affirming this little beat that he is having with the team behind ,the show wondering if it could really succeed from your point of view whats different about this ,play than other broadway shows michael has shifted the lens to a character that we never thought ,would lead a broadway musical before but tony nominated director stephen brackett ,who worked with jackson on the show for 10 years believes the universal message has cut through ,everybody knows what it feels like to feel imperfect and to see a character so ,bravely and vulnerably going through that one cant help but put their own story on top ,in fact first produced off-broadway the play would win the pulitzer prize for drama in 2020 but then ,the pre-broadway run in washington dc was delayed for more than a year because of covid now however ,both brackett and jackson love watching the audience respond to usher played by jacquel spivey,how old are you im 23. 23 just out of college and nominated for a tony for best leading actor in a ,musical ive had many people that are not black and that are not fat and that are not queer come ,to me and say wow usher huh hes i can relate to a lot of stuff like that youre like a proud ,father watching his little children get these accolades and these nominations ,yeah jacquel is the age that i was when i started working on a strange loop ,and for michael r jackson it has been a strange loop minding his own life ,for a tale of change and self-acceptance ♫ like all those black gay boys ,I knew who chose to go on back to the Lord ♫