A Strange Loop (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsMember Reviews (297)
See it if hilariously meta/moving; U's anxieties brilliantly personified by various actors; sharp satire religious homophobia; brilliant Ensemble&Lead
Don't see it if few memorable tunes or lyrics; some may be turned off by subject matter Read more
See it if desire moment of self recognition that you can uncomfortably travel in someone else's shoes, bridge acceptance gap of someone else's story
Don't see it if can't travel in someone else's shoes, can't accept cultural/sexual/human differences, don't want to hear about them, love Tyler Perry
See it if interested in a meta show about an overweight,queer,black musical theater writer. Funny, smart, unsettling, heartbreaking, joyous, raunchy.
Don't see it if homophobic, closed minded, looking for more traditional subject matter, fan of Tyler Perry. Some problems with sound design. Read more
See it if Emotional rollercoaster of racism, homophobia, anxieties, family, and sex looping around. Lets it get messy because that is real life.
Don't see it if New, very Black, queer, gay sex, profanity, N word, fat, religion, tackling societal -isms aren't your thing. No neat bowtie plot endings. Read more
See it if very specific genre show - well sung and staged by all involved. one feels for the main character. excellent show of a place and time
Don't see it if want a show about everyone, not just one person. may be too niche for most people - don't see schools doing this in the future.
See it if following (imaginatively) the progressive self-embracing of a big, Black, queer male artist (musical theatre writer) piques your attention.
Don't see it if you dislike dark humor, excessive sexuality, and/or the “n”-word (often repeated and put to music); AIDS- and faith-based jokes offend. Read more
See it if You like theatre of the dysfunctional. Although much of the audience seemed enthralled, this piece did not resonate with me. NOT FOR KIDS!!
Don't see it if You want a light hearted musical comedy. This is a sad portrayal of a gay, overweight, man of color, who is emotionally self destructive. Read more
See it if You're up for a clever, funny, extremely raunchy & explicit NC-17 musical, with subject & language rarely seen on a Broadway stage.
Don't see it if You're easily offended—specifically and especially by coarse or explicit gay or racist themes, language or actions. Read more
Critic Reviews (21)
"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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" 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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"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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"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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-"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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"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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"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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"In spite of inventive touches, satirical humor, fluid production values, and songs full of both spark and sensitivity, 'A Strange Loop' ultimately falls victim to the perils of its own design, becoming so messy, whiny, confrontational, sexually explicit, and theoretical that it will probably turn off many theatergoers while invigorating and thrilling plenty of others."
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Trailer
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