The writer and composer of the musical nominated for 11 Tony Awards, about a young, queer Black man working as an usher in a Broadway theater, talks about mining his own life for a tale of change and self-acceptance.
“A Strange Loop”, the Broadway musical that’s drawn rave reviews and earned 11 Tony nominations, centers on a very unlikely lead character: 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 usher at a Broadway show – all while cycling through his own self-hatred. The entire show – book, music and lyrics – was written by 41-year-old Michael R. Jackson, who grew up in a middle-class family in Detroit. He spent almost two decades working on “A Strange Loop.”
Outside the Lyceum Theater, where a poster heralded his Tony nominations for best book and best score, correspondent Rita Braver asked Jackson, “Doesn’t get any better than that?”
“It doesn’t get any better. Any time I look at it, I, like, sort of have a geek-out moment of unbelievable joy!”
Jackson said the musical is, in part, his own story, having worked as an usher: “That is true. I worked at ‘Lion King’, ‘Mary Poppins’, and a brief seasonal stint of ‘Aladdin.'”
But he said the show, which includes some provocative language and graphic content, is more of an emotional than an actual autobiography. He turns his own self-doubt and hopes into a cast of vexing characters that embody Usher’s thoughts.
