“A Stange Loop” is strange, indeed. Surreal, like an Escher drawing of hand drawing a hand drawing a hand drawing a hand. It is a life scene in a mirror. It is an autiobiographical play in which nothing happens. Literally: nothing happens.
Nothing can happen because there is no place for it to happen, and nobody for anything to happen to.
The play takes place inside the brain of an artist. There are memories, certainly, and there are characters (as imagined by the artist, not as they exist in the world), and there are voices.
Specifically, they are Thoughts #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6. Each of these thoughts is a distinct personality, and capable of variation. One thought, for example, manifests as Harriet Tubman, and another as James Baldwin. Other thoughts appear as the artist’s parents, his sibling, and his sister in law. And they often transform even as we are watching them.
The artist in question is playwright, Michael Jackson, who wrote this play while working as an usher for “The Lion King” on Broadway. The play is about a playwright, name of Usher (like the rap superstar), who is writing this play while working as an usher for “The Lion King” on Broadway. Get it? It’s a story within a story within a story an infinitum. . .
Anyway, Usher is a passionate hot mess. He wants to write a musical but his self doubt and the persistent uncontrolled thoughts in his head are getting in the way. “Uncontrolled” is an understatement. These thoughts are loud, aggressive, and absolutely refuse to shut up. They sing, they dance, they turn somersaults, they transform into other thoughts and characters and they all make themselves at home in Usher’s feverish brain which resides in Usher’s fat, black, queer, ugly body. (How do know he is fat, black queer and ugly? The voices tell us so. Over and over again.)
This sounds like it would be awful, but it isn’t. In fact it is amazing, extraordinary, wonderful.
In a brief hour and 20 minutes, Usher and his thoughts (one is tempted to call them the Ushette’s – a pun on “Oh! Shit!” if you missed it) are great entertainment.
The songs are melodic and well performed. The dancing is virtuoso. The acting is off the charts outrageous as the thoughts create characters from history, from Usher’s life, and from his imagination.
And they have a LOT to say. About being Black; about being Queer; about being an artist; about other Black artists; about sex; about food; about body image; about the theatre; about the audience; about themselves. And they don’t give anybody a pass.
“A Strange Loop” is transgressive, funny, wildly entertaining, completely original, and genuinely shocking.
If you are triggered by any of the usual suspects, you will feel like you’re being shot by a whole phalanx of snipers with BB guns and you might want to yell back. In fact, you miight do just that with howls of laughter, foot stomping, whistles, and gasps of “Oh my God”. Certainly, the night I saw this play, many audience members behaved like that, myself included.
As Usher, Malachi McCaskill (a college sophomore making his professional acting debut) is likeable and enthusiastic. His voice may need time to mature, but he is undoubtedly headed for a career on Broadway.
The six thoughts are a wonderful ensemble. They create so many characters, it leaves your head spinning. Standouuts include J. Cameron Barnett, who apparently can play anything, and is more than hilarious as Usher’s dream version of a very loud Harriet Tubman, with attitude, plus Tony-nominee (from the Broadway production of “A Strange Loop'”) John-Andrew Morrison whose portrayal of Usher’s gospel-loving, tender, affectionate but, alas, homophobic mother is both a moving and believable characterization and a send up of Tyler Perry at his most … well his most….. you know… whatever . . .
Given that Usher is Queer as Queer gets, he naturally has feminine thoughts as well, brought vividly to life by Avlonce Holyes and Tarra Conner Jones.
I should warn you: “A Strange Loop” has something to offend everybody, including the woke. And there is a wild, simulated same sex encounter.
In this very strange loop of a play, nothing happens, but a helluva a lot gets said, and sung, and danced and it matters. It matters a lot.
Highly recommended!
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Rating: ***** (For an explanation of Theatrestorm’s rating scale, click here.)
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