• Michael R. Jackson on “A Strange Loop,” His Black, Queer Coming-of-Age Musical

  • Jun 15 2022
  • Length: 17 mins
  • Podcast
Michael R. Jackson on “A Strange Loop,” His Black, Queer Coming-of-Age Musical By cover art

Michael R. Jackson on “A Strange Loop,” His Black, Queer Coming-of-Age Musical

Listen for free

View show details

  • Summary

  • Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “A Strange Loop” features a Black queer writer named Usher, who works as an usher, struggling to write a musical about a Black queer writer. Jackson’s work tackles the terror of the blank page alongside the terrors of the dating scene, and it speaks in frank and heartbreaking terms about Usher’s attempt to navigate gay life among Black and white partners. Hilton Als talked with Jackson about how he found inspiration in his own experience seeking identity and community. “I started writing the original monologue—building a sort of life raft for myself—to understand myself,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t until I got to a place of understanding that in my life I was caught up in a loop of self-hatred, that I could see what Usher’s problem was, and therefore what the structure of the piece was that would lead him out of that and into a better place.”

    “A Strange Loop” is playing now at the Lyceum Theatre, on Broadway.

    Show more Show less
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Michael R. Jackson on “A Strange Loop,” His Black, Queer Coming-of-Age Musical

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available