A Strange Loop: musical exuberance amidst self-doubt
03 May 2025 - Photos by Dahlia Katz

I don't have AIDS
And I don't care about marriage
And I will never be pushing
A loud-ass baby around in a carriage . . .
Because the second wave feminist in me 
Is at war with the dick-sucking black gay man

Usher is an usher at the Broadway production of The Lion King. He is also writing a musical about a "fat, black, queer" man writing a musical about a "fat, black, queer" man writing a musical. With A Strange Loop he presents us with current drafts, his inspirations, his frustrations, and a witty and tuneful critique of what it means to be an artist who happens to be fat, black and queer. That A Strange Loop for all its brilliance became so successful is a minor miracle of talent triumphing over convention. He is told that "hotness is the lifeblood of theatre," he'd be better off dealing with "slavery, police violence and intersectionality," and while queer theatre is definitely here to stay, being explicit about gay sexuality is still taboo in the mainstream. He is told repeatedly, there is even a song stating "Tyler Perry Writes Real Life," to accept a job ghost-writing a gospel musical with the much-maligned but uber-commercial Tyler Perry. How much is playwright/composer Michael R Jackson's own history is known only to him, but A Strange Loop feels so acutely real and personal, and thus universal, that it adds another loop of writing a musical about a musical about . . .

Usher is determined to be true to his artistic vision and the stage fills with an exuberant and devastating ode to self-expression and being fat, black and queer. It really is a "big, black, queer ass Broadway show." Usher is assisted and hindered by six Thoughts including Daily Self-Loathing, Internalized Homophobia, and Sexual Ambivalence. Usher must face, conquer and accept the six negative thoughts in his head in order to complete his musical and escape the strange loop he finds himself in. He channels his inner white girl: "White girls can do anything, can’t they? Black boys must always obey their mothers," calls his mother (leading to a perhaps too extensive Tyler Perry parody complete with Popeye's chicken) to come out yet again, visits his doctor who berates him about his weight and offers PrEP despite Usher bemoaning he gets "one penetration a year," tries out hook-up apps with cataclysmic and hilariously realistic results, and produces the most uncomfortable twisted clap-along gospel number ever created. A Strange Loop ricochets from raucous laughter to heartbreak to brave intensity to comic shock tactics and back again at a whiplash speed. He even dares to diss Beyoncé.

Malachi McCaskill as Usher has to hold the center of a maelstrom of ideas and talent, and has the charm and melliferous voice to do so. The music, aside from the gospel number, is pop rock with an edge, and McCaskill has to rely on falsetto phrases for emotive emphasis. Initially they get lost in the wall of sound harmonies and dynamic arrangements courtesy of musical director Chris Tsujiuchi (Cocktails and Candy Canes, Porchside Songs, A Very Cristical Christmas Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Show, Unravelled, Parade, Box 4901, Onegin) but by the time he reaches the 11 o'clock numbers, there are two which might be one too many, his tone is crystalline, rivalling Dirty Mind era Prince, and sails to the rafters. Director Ray Hogg (Dixon Road) keeps the fragmented narrative in constant motion so that the disparate set pieces and numbers can coalesce organically, while the frenetic witty set by Brian Dudkiewicz is both practical and blatantly mocking of the self-analysis and self-flagellation of A Chorus Line. Choreographer Rodney Diverlus (welcome, we've been waiting, Two to See) keeps McCaskill as the stolid eye of the storm while the Thoughts gyrate around him. Every stage entrance and exit is danced with intent and style.

It is the Thoughts that make A Strange Loop the irresistible force it is. Hogg has assembled an astounding ensemble of talents all of whom appear to be emotionally committed and genuinely excited to be part of the production. Sierra Holder (The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard of Oz) has vocal power to spare and navigates the tricky role of the haughty but helpful wise woman. Her fervent addition to the gospel number "AIDS is God's Punishment" that kicks in the balls is stunning. As is her rocking of the scariest manicure ever seen. Nathanael Judah is the most benign of the Thoughts and incarnates an intellectualized version of Quentin Crisp's "Great Dark Man" with sexy aplomb. Marcus Nance (Cymbeline, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Frankenstein Revived, Richard II) has a rich baritone/bass that is almost startling in its intensity and ability to carry. He also subverts his natural sexual appeal as a fetishizing older white man in a musical number that escalates in taboos while butt-fucking. What begins as titillating becomes more and more disturbing to the point where a handful of well-dressed patrons of a certain age fled. A difficult but crucial topic that gets little attention outside of serious queer academia, given an audacious musical airing.

Matt Nethersole (The Wizard of Oz, Acha Bacha, James and the Giant Peach) is the sexpot Thought. His creation of a Grindr fantasy brought to snarky life leads to a chorus of "Your dick too small" that is a hilarious horrific indictment of the way people, especially gay men of a certain self-perceived hotness, treat each other online. He is also hilarious as an oblivious straight stud. David Andrew Reid (La Cage Aux Folles, Choir Boy, Hair) flashes his impressive abs as he leaps with abandon before taking an extended turn as Usher's mother that is equal parts of Disney villain and heart of gold matriarch. Revelling in the character's contradictions and flaws, while never punching down. A sentiment that is the beating heart and throbbing cock of  A Strange Loop. Amaka Umeh (Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Fall on Your Knees, Moby, Towards Youth, The Wolves, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, James and the Giant Peach, This is for You Anna, Sister Act, Jesus Christ Superstar) is comic brilliance with each role they find themselves in. Bouncing irrepressibly with glee across the line that should separate clown caricature from character and finding a core truth in both. 

What is truly remarkable is the continual engagement and energy of the ensemble. Always connected to Usher but also to the audience, flashing cheeky grins or rueful smiles, even moving the set pieces with balletic intent. Exploding stereotypes while toying with the truth within them. What Jackson has created is given vivid and euphoric life. An intensely specific examination of being caught in loops of society's design, expands to include anyone who has experienced adversity or self-doubt. A Strange Loop delivers so much hope amidst its mockery of despair that one's rooting for Usher becomes rooting for us all. For oneself. For everyone except for Tyler Perry.