SpeakEasy Stage Company & Front Porch Arts Collective present ‘A Strange Loop’. Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman. Choreographed by Taavon Gamble. Intimacy Direction by Greg Geffrard. Scenic Design by Jon Savage. Costume Design by Becca Jewett. Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design by David Remedios. At the Wimberly Theater at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through May 25th.
By Linda Chin
As if the powerfully personal storytelling and rapturous standing ovation weren’t emotionally overwhelming enough, being part of the moment when director Maurice Emmanuel Parent shared the news that a special guest was in the house – and A Strange Loop’s creator Michael R. Jackson strolled onstage – made my head spin. Watching the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright praise the production and being so genuinely gracious to the cast, creatives, co-producers, crew, everyone – including the opening night crowds who supported the show’s Boston premiere – gave me goosebumps.
A Strange Loop follows the life of a big Black queer man and budding musical theater writer named Usher (superbly played by Kai Clifton), whose current reality of “living the NY dream” is working as an usher at Disney’s The Lion King and writing a musical about a big Black queer usher named Usher who is writing a musical. Jackson’s stints ushering at The Lion King, Mary Poppins, and Aladdin, and other life experiences as a young, queer, Black gay man in his twenties living in NYC, informed the plot and characters, scenes, and songs of A Strange Loop, but it’s more of an emotional than actual autobiography.
Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Music Director David Freeman Coleman, and Choreographer Taavon Gamble have cast six other phenomenal actors, singers, and dancers – Grant Evan, De’Lon Grant, Jonathan Melo, Zion Middleton, Davron S. Monroe, and Aaron Michael Ray – to portray the “Thoughts” that live inside Usher’s head. As the principal storyteller, Clifton is onstage for the duration of production (as is the magnificent music director Coleman, playing behind the heavy upstage curtain). The “Thoughts” change their costumes and characters frequently, morphing into members of a Greek Chorus/Gospel choir/group of celebrity ancestors/potential matches on a dating app, playing supporting (or not-very-supportive) characters, or bringing the fears, fantasies and feelings of self-loathing that cycle through Usher’s mind to life onstage.
Usher is the musical’s only “human” character, yet the twenty-something Clifton’s acting is otherworldly and their lovely tenor is the voice of an angel. Their transitions from feeling frustrated, unseen, and undone in one scene, to speaking with confidence and conviction in the next scene are stunningly executed. And every member of the ensemble excels at their craft, providing the loving supportive family Usher is longing for. A Strange Loop is a spectacular, spellbinding, 100-minute-long emotional roller-coaster ride I hope to experience again before its run ends on May 25th. For tickets and information, go to: https://speakeasystage.com/
