A Strange Loop (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (910)
See it if you like redemption stories; thought-provoking plays cleverly written;
Don't see it if you like lighthearted plays or musicals; don't want to be challenged in your assumptions and status quo
See it if You want to see a new work that addresses tough issues in a clever way.
Don't see it if You may be put off by language or sexual content Read more
See it if You like excellent introspective musicals
Don't see it if You're uncomfortable with dark/adult subject matter
See it if You want to see explorations of blackness on stage that are often underrepresented and want to hear great songs and thoughtful writing.
Don't see it if You have no interest in black stories or sexual content.
See it if you like coming of age stories and seeing perspectives on stage that are real, raw, intense, and fabulous!
Don't see it if you don't like raunchy comedy or grappling with heavy subjects about real life.
See it if You want to witness a play about current issues
Don't see it if You are stuck in a time warp
See it if challenging theatre speaks to you, you explore stories that aren't specifically for/about you, and love taking risks
Don't see it if you're not comfortable with people outside your daily purview
See it if you want to see a truly "NEW" musical about issues affecting adults in New York and beyond today (especially gay and POC adults)
Don't see it if you're racist or homophobic or if you're not interested in learning something new/having a unique experience
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."
Read more
" 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."
Read more
"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."
Read more
"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."
Read more
"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."
Read more
-"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."
Read more
"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."
Read more
"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."
Read more