A Strange Loop (Broadway)
Closed 1h 40m
A Strange Loop (Broadway)
84%
84%
(923 Ratings)
Positive
89%
Mixed
7%
Negative
4%
Members say
Ambitious, Clever, Absorbing, Entertaining, Edgy

About the Show

Michael R. Jackson’s Tony Award-winning new musical about a young artist grappling with identity.

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Critic Reviews (21)

The New York Times
April 26th, 2022

"It seems as if there is no measure of praise that could be too much; after all, this is a show that allows a Black gay man to be vulnerable onstage without dismissing or fetishizing his trauma, desires and creative ambitions. Now that’s some radical theater."
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Time Out New York
April 26th, 2022

" In a Broadway landscape dominated by shows that often seem designed by corporations for audiences of focus groups, Michael R. Jackson’s musical is the defiant product of a single and singular authorial vision. This wide-ranging intravaganza takes a deep dive, often barely coming up for breath, into a whirlpool of ambition and frustration as Jackson's seeming alter ego—a queer, Black writer-composer named Usher (Jaquel Spivey)—struggles to define himself amid traps of sex, race, family, body image, religion and entertainment. It’s screamingly funny and howlingly hurt, and it’s unmissable."
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New York Theatre Guide
April 26th, 2022

"Spivey ― who is vulnerable, sassy, inquisitive, and incendiary ― grounds their work, not because he overwhelms the stage through sheer power and vocal charisma, but because he knows how to pull back and allow us to come to him. His performance is a conversation between his onstage partners and the audience that shows us we will fail, and we can try again until we finally overcome our own strange loop. This is art as activism in its highest form."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
April 26th, 2022

"We know what happens to Usher because we know what happens to Michael R. Jackson. But the musical doesn’t know that yet — and at this point, the fabulous, piety-smashing 'Loop' still feels as exhilarating as your first trip on the merry-go-round."
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Deadline
April 26th, 2022

"Fluidly directed by Stephen Brackett, with Raja Feather Kelly’s clever choreography punctuating Jackson’s delightfully brash score, 'A Strange Loop' grabs hold of us the moment Usher concludes that funny introduction. If the show begins to lose a little steam – but just a little – towards the end, it’s only because Jackson has already made his points so clearly, pointedly and winningly."
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Variety
April 26th, 2022

-"Even truth can be subjective, but 'A Strange Loop' doesn’t stoop or pander to solicit understanding and empathy. Undoubtedly there are details that may elude typical (read: white, straight, affluent) Broadway theatergoers, language and references specific to Black and/or queer culture presented here without explanatory commas. While 'A Strange Loop' may feel 'radical' to some (in the parlance of Usher’s mom), to others it will be a rare and revolutionary moment of recognition."
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The Washington Post
April 29th, 2022

"The composer-lyricist already has that Pulitzer, but now he deserves the Tony. Spivey should get one, too. Heck, give 'A Strange Loop' a lot of Tonys. That’s only just, for the best Broadway musical of the season."
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Entertainment Weekly
April 26th, 2022

"Jackson's work reveals itself in new and exciting ways at every turn, endlessly keeping the audience on their feet. His score is packed with maddening melodies and clever rhymes. It's a fresh, erratic, and inspiring first work that's both wildly specific and incredibly human."
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