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There were no selfie stations or gift kiosks at Woolly Mammoth’s venue, just a few blocks from Sydney Threshing Hall. The theater has a capacity of less than 300 people and its content Jackson’s “A Strange Loop” couldn’t be more different from “Once Upon a Time.”
Directed by Stephen Brackett, “A Strange Loop” is a carnival of the protagonist’s self-loathing, insecurities, and introspective delusions about sexuality and identity, society, family, and religion. It’s hilarious and vice versa until you become infertile. And it defines itself through criticism of commercial productions such as the long-running Broadway show “The Lion King,” as well as the deconstruction of society’s expectations from a black, queer artist that could crush bold new work.
The musical rejects the gentle, family-friendly themes and tidy endings that the protagonist sees at work, a Broadway veteran named Usher (Jaquel Spivey). Filled with references to sexual assault and racism, and with language offensive enough to fill a gallon jar of swear words, “A Strange Loop” aims to bring taboo subjects to mainstream theatre. The Woolly Mammoth crowd loved the lines that shattered queer and race politics and mmhmm-ed; At one point, a man sitting behind me got up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the music as if it were a raveda—if the raves were playing devastating songs about homophobia and harassment.
Later, as I was leaving the theater, I heard a group of friends wondering if “A Strange Loop” could make it to Broadway. One woman had reservations; he liked it, he said, but – and here he paused before awkwardly stumbling upon his qualifier – A musical about AIDS.
I held my tongue – because I could tell that “Rent” and “Angels in America” were two Broadway shows about AIDS. Or “A Strange Loop” is much more than AIDS. Or “Dana H.” on Broadway this season. there was. a show about kidnapping and assaultand “Is This A Room?” about a real FBI investigation – both fantastic, critically acclaimed works of art. Or this “slave playIt brought similarly obscene language and sexual content to Broadway in 2019 and has now reopened.
Or I could simply say that this beautiful, brutal drama is making its way to Broadway.
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