A Strange Loop

by Michael R. Jackson

Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Usher is a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical. Michael R. Jackson’s blistering, momentous new musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons — not least of which, the punishing thoughts in his own head — in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Queer, LGBT, Drama, Fiction, Musicals

111 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2021

Reviews

[Eva B.]

Not giving this a rating since although I have rated scripts many times on here, I feel like A Strange Loop is one that definitely needs to be seen to receive the full impact of the show and I am not someone who has access to Broadway to go and see it lol. I plan to check out the cast album for it once I have the time--plot-wise it reminded me a bit of Company but if instead of the lead being a probably-aromantic generally-white usually-man-unless-you're-doing-the-mediocre-genderbent, the lead is Usher, a self-described fat gay Black man who is writing a show about a fat gay Black man who's writing a show about a fat gay Black man who...you get it by now. The Chorus and his family members and his hookups are all represented by his Thoughts. Lyrics-wise, the only ones that particularly stood out to me were Boundaries and the finale, but that might change once I listen to the album.
Overall I didn't love this one, but it feels unfair to give a star rating to the script of a show that feels like it needs to be seen play out onstage to receive the full impact. I am, however, beyond happy that it won Best Musical since not only is it an original story, but it is an original story that has so much to say about so many topics. The 2010s and 2020s have been a mixed bag, giving us some of the best musicals (Bandstand, the Falsettos revival, Hadestown, Come From Away, Great Comet, etc.) along with some of the most bland, forgettable, poorly written, and overrated (Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, Be More Chill, all of the jukebox musicals and movie adaptations that feel rushed out to get quick cash) and after last year, in which every eligible musical was a fucking jukebox musical, it's refreshing for the award to go to an original show. May that trend continue into the rest of this decade.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, rounded down.

Perhaps it's just a question of expectations - or maybe a question of different tastes, but this left me severely UNDER whelmed - even though I read it while listening along to the CD at the appropriate times. The music is never memorable, nor even melodic, the rhetoric rather trite and cliche (Tyler Perry is SUCH an easy target), and even though the conceit is that everything repeats, I got bored with the repitiousness. Can't imagine what the Pulitzer committee was thinking. Maybe it plays better on stage ...

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sure it’s much better on a stage, especially in the original production. As some of the emotion was lost just reading it on the page, even while listening to the cast recording along with it. But, that happens when reading a piece that wasn’t meant to be read.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this on Broadway and read the show while listening to the soundtrack. I liked this play a lot and have questions about who the joke is on. I also think the ending falls a part a bit but overall its very good.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still Mostly Cringe
A review of the Theater Communications Group paperback (November 2020).

This is a postcard from Outlier Island 🏝️📨📬.
Call me old fashioned but I enjoyed the days of musicals with songs you could actually understand and sing along with. I think of myself as open-minded, but songs about c**** and d**** with liberal use of the n***** word throughout do not exactly inspire sing-along status. This is admittedly an ambitious journey into what was probably the author's working out of his inner issues and is as messy as life itself. But it swings from cringe moments to weirdly embarrassing ones throughout.

The plot in brief has the lead character Usher. He actually works as an usher ("Intermission") for a NYC theatre where "The Lion King" is in perpetual performance. He is trying to write his own stage musical ("Big, Black and Queer-Ass American Broadway Show"), while being tormented by his six thoughts (only the self-loathing one is named) who also play all the other character cameos needed. He is an introvert gay black man ("Exile in Gayville"), who cannot make a romantic connection. Ma and pa back home constantly telephone to distract him further. Ma demands that he write a gospel musical ("Writing a Gospel Play"), which is eventually brought to life as a dark parody ("AIDS is God's Punishment"). A reconciliation comes with the penultimate song ("These Are My Memories"). That song was the only musically memorable number. It all closes with the finale "A Strange Loop," implying that it happens over and over again.

Reading the playscript I saw that the cue to get the audience clapping along to "AIDS is God's Punishment" is actually written into the script!. In practice this started off enthusiastically until we all realized: "Wait a minute, what is this we are clapping along to?" 🤔


Curtain call at the Toronto Crow's Theatre/Soulpepper production of "A Strange Loop" (June 2025). Image sourced from own photo.

When I reviewed the live performance it was a 3-star, that was mostly due to the exuberance of the cast. Reading it on the page makes it more cringey as I can actually understand the words (often lost in cacophony on stage). There were some funny moments: the phone calls from ma and pa, the cameo appearances of various black icons (Harriet Tubman, Carter G. Woodson, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Whitney Houston, etc). Attacking easy targets such as Tyler Perry, Wendy Williams, Michael Jackson, less so.

Soundtrack
Listen to the 2022 Broadway cast recording on a YouTube playlist that starts here or on Spotify here.

You can hear an excerpt from the song "These Are My Memories" performed by 2025 Toronto cast member Malachi McCaskill as Usher in a YouTube clip here.

Other Reviews
Read a review of the 2025 Toronto production by The Musical Stage Company / Crow's Theatre / Soulpepper Theatre / TO Live at The Slotkin Letter here.

[Nadja · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant piece of theatre. What a shame it wasn't as successful in London. I was lucky enough to see it at the Barbican.

[Mark Gubarenko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Есть такая традиция покупать пьесы получившие Пулитцеровскую премию. А у них есть иногда такие проишествия, когда вместо пьесы-пьесы отдают премию мюзиклу. И иногда это шедевры, иногда просто интересно читать. Но иногда вот такое говно про Толстого Чёрного Гея (описание из мюзикла), которое абсолютно неинтересно читать. Я постараюсь это потом послушать, но это никак не повлияет на оценку, потому что премию дают за текст, а не за шоу с музыкой.

UPDATE: послушал Original Cast Recording, лучше не стало. Такой юмор уровня South Park (что не минус) по исполнению/лицедейству, который устареет уже через год, а то и раньше. В музыкальном плане даже сериал GLEE на несколько голов выше.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama, 2020

This was a unique reading experience for me. I checked this play script out from the library because it was a Pulitzer winner. I literally knew nothing about it. I had no clue A Strange Loop was a musical. Therefore, I listened to the recordings of the songs while reading it.

Usher is an aspiring playwright. He’s also black and gay, which are dominant concepts in this story. Throughout the play, he is interacting with a chorus of thoughts.

Some of the songs are funny. But for the most part . . . they were gross and off-putting. The whole script is hyper-sexualized and graphic. I could have gone without reading all of those details.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Crap this is brilliance! Pure, brilliant genius! Ostensibly about a gay, Black man trying to write a musical, the true through line is that what Usher deals with is universal to us all. And my rave is just from reading it-I haven't even heard the songs! It's no wonder this is getting heaped with praise-it deserves it!!

[Haley Chambers]

I really loved getting to read this work, but don't really want to rate it until I can see the show in person (hopefully one day). I have a feeling that this show must be seen to understand the complexity of it fully. That being said, it's so clever and sharp on the page. I also highly recommend listening to the cast recordings (west end and broadway).

[Xiyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone whose self-perception / Is based upon a lie / Someone whose only problem / Is with the pronoun “I”. 精读剧本太长知识了，好多地方特别微妙的引用十分细致。作为以黑人同志为主题的作品，对于女性主义也有多处的引用和反思。最后两首歌太悲伤了。

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike anything ever written before!! This is just about the most creative and wild ride on paper!!

[Neo · Rating 4 out of 5]

usher was highkey annoying sometimes but highkey relatable at others but the play itself was crazy and devastating and the music is good too

[Donald Butchko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of stuff I never expected to see (or, rather, read) in a musical

[Octavia]

Mentally at the NPR Tiny desk version

[Ellen Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting take when thinking about plays and productions!

[Leni Konstas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not having the chance to see the production, and not read a play unseen/unheard since college I expected to be disappointed or confused, but could not put the play down. I laughed out loud, was uncomfortable, and reread pages after finishing. Definitely the best play I've read and not seen.

[Nikki]

at the end of the day this was mostly a startling reminder of how much we do not live in a society that even RESEMBLES 2019 anymore

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I hadn't really heard about this until I saw the play win the Tony. So, I got the book from the library - now I really need to hear the music and see the play.

[Zoe Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny and poignant with the perfect layer of meta-ness. the ending perfectly captures the feeling of finally naming your emotional state but still not knowing what to do about it.

can’t wait to see the stage production.

[Angela Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this performed in D.C. at the Woolly Mammoth Theater and WOW. It's entertaining, real, heart-wrenching art, y'all!

As Usher works full-time as an usher at Disney's Lion King on Broadway, he also grapples with his identity as a fat, queer, black artist by writing a musical about a fat, queer, black artist writing a musical about a fat, queer black artist. Usher delves into the insecurities borne of working in a white, cis-het dominated space and never quite fitting in.

Most of the action takes place in Usher's mind where his thoughts are embodied and brought to life by a talented chorus. "Self-Loathing" makes daily appearances. There are frequent phone calls to and from Usher's mom and dad who are concerned that he is directionless in NYC after they put him through theater school at NYU . . . and they are concerned about his gay "lifestyle."

This musical dives deep into Usher's relationship with his family and the many ways that they have ashamed him for being gay. It's hard to explain how this is both a big, gay musical romp and a heart-breaking spectacle that causes Usher to close the loop by looking inward for validation.

This musical is packed with pop and cultural references I haven't even mentioned that make up some of the Strange Loops that connect the show. For instance, the show eviscerates Tyler Perry for putting out stuff that isn't good for black people but then has a male character playing Usher's mom in the second half--in an emotionally charged and very real conversation with Usher. As another example, Usher's family all have the names of Lion King characters. That's just the lowest hanging fruit.

The musical is dark at times but ultimately redemptive for anyone looking to shed or understand the religious guilt placed on queerdos.

Buy the book! Go see the show! Thank you, Michael R. Jackson for this brilliant work of art.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun reading experience — I've never read the book of a musical while listening along to it, especially not a new musical I hadn't already seen before. I did try desperately to get tickets to this show when it was playing at Playwrights Horizons in 2019, but alas, my lottery luck did not come through. But it's totally clear why it was a smash. Jackson, who wrote the book, lyrics, AND music for the show (what?!) is able to channel so much in a relatively compact script. It's incredibly funny and dark all at once, and very psychologically incisive in a way you don't always get to see on stage. It plays with tropes of musical theater but always feels profoundly original. I loved how it felt so specific in telling the story of the Black gay man's experience fighting against not only homophobia, but racism and fetishization as well (on personal and professional levels), often coming from within (white) queer spaces themselves. Throw in anxiety around success and religion and familial expectations, and this specific starts to echo the experiences of so many young people just trying to "make it."

Of course, like any play, this is meant to be seen live, so reading a script and listening to songs while following lyrics will never give you the same experience, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much jumped off the page, and how well I was able to envision the characters as they moved about, and how well Usher's strange loop really did translate through his words. That lucidity on the page so often makes for a better viewing experience because the show isn't relying on spectacle alone.

Overall, this was a great reading and listening experience, and I can only hope that I'll get the chance to see this live someday.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to this play with the soundtrack was an unforgettable experience. What a wonderfully written and refreshing Pulitzer Prize in Drama Winner. I hope to see this in production someday!

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jeez Loueez! I made it about 30% through and stopped. Not for me. I don't care if it won the Drama Pulitzer. Too much sexually graphic.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I did is I read the script and listened to the songs as they came up, but I still think I'm losing something by not seeing the show live. From what I hear, the acting and staging add a lot to the show and make it really something special. I really wish I'd seen it live!
This show also does a lot of things I tend to not enjoy in shows — not only frequently referencing pop culture but using pop culture figures as symbols, such as Beyonce, Rihanna and especially Tyler Perry. Ten years from now, the audience might need a dictionary to be able to keep up, and the Genius lyrics will be annotated to hell and back. It'll age pretty quickly unless the audience is read up on the multitudes of context that Jackson knows.
I also personally don't like a whole lot of the modern satirical musicals, like "Shucked" or "Mean Girls" that revel in parodying the musical theater format. At times, this too leaned into that modern satire format, especially in the "life lesson" condescending song that ultimately made no sense. It just isn't for me!
On the other hand, the show does a great job of expressing the questions and frustrations that the Black creator has for the musical theater industry and for his own self-identity, informed by the stereotypes that pervade in theater and media and his own parents. A lot of moments were really poignant, as was the set up of having this all happen in his own head, a convoluted writer within a writer within a writer type scenario. The music worked really well in that respect to express his frustrations with the stereotypes, especially the gospel song that expressed his experience growing up religious. Parts were so emotional that they were hard to listen to, and I can only imagine the emotional turmoil of acting them out day after day.
So, this was a mixed bag for me! But ultimately, a super neat play with an interesting concept and great questions for the world.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has never seen A Strange Loop on stage and only listened to the soundtracks, I really enjoyed reading it on the page even though like all librettos a lot of emotion gets lost because musicals are designed to be watched and listened to, not read. So what’s the point of reading it then? There’s something about reading the words that can still get to the heart of the story, maybe not emotionally but at least tangibly, as sometimes when watching or listening to a musical, you don’t always catch every word that’s said and sung. While A Strange Loop has its flaws in that it’s not a story but really just a stream of consciousness in musical form, I was still engrossed by the cutting spirit of it that really makes this musical stand out. It’s not perfect tho. Some of its reads and quips are a little predictable (not that I’m a Tyler Perry fan but…a little too obvious of a choice), and perhaps it oversimplifies it’s themes and message a little too broadly, but it’s kind, tender, and honest exploration on queerness, fat phobia, race, colorism, toxic masculinity, and religion was pretty spot on, and funny. A Strange Loop isn’t going to be the most impressive musical that you’ll ever read and hear, but if you love queer theater, this will still have a special place in your heart.

[Brynn Land · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t just a musical about a Black queer writer named Usher; it’s a dizzying, self-referential dive into the loops of identity, self-worth, and desire. What hit me hardest was Usher’s primary goal: to write a musical that truly reflects his own messy, complex feelings. That clarity of purpose fights constantly against the noise of self-doubt, internalized racism, fatphobia, and queer expectations.

One standout moment: the “Inner White Girl” number. It’s catchy, yes, but it cuts deep. Usher tries to convince himself he’s desirable — but desire, in his world, is coded as white, thin, wild, and carefree. The white girl becomes a metaphor for what’s seen as desirable in the erotic marketplace, and how entitlement and race shape attraction and worth.

Another powerful scene is Thought 5 on the subway — a white, fit, liberal gay man who’s everything Usher is not, yet speaks kindly and openly about his coming out. It’s such a layered moment — warm and affirming, but also laced with the unspoken barriers of class, race, and beauty standards. It reminded me of the tension in Slave Play and even Fat Ham’s Larry — men trying to reconcile their place within (and against) white queer narratives.

The play’s looping structure mirrors Usher’s state of mind: always in the middle, never resolved.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would love to see this one day. since this is one of the rare times i really couldn't picture what was going on in my head, i feel that seeing this on a stage, how musicals are intended to be consumed, could only make me appreciate this more.

i didn't really know what to expect going into a strange loop, but i know i wasn't expecting it to go deep into the themes it does. this musical tackles a lot of hard topics concerning black and queer and fat identity so bluntly that i don't think you should read or see this show unless you're prepared to face the gritty realities of these identities, and this particular intersection of them, head-on because this was at times hard and uncomfortable to read. but, overall i think a strange loop is pushing the boundaries of musical theater while also giving musical theater the representation it so vitally needs.

trigger and content warnings: homophobia, racism (there's one particular scene/song where a white man uses racial epithets while having sex with usher), mentions of rape and sexual assault, recurring mentions of someone who died due to AIDS, the stigma around AIDS being a "gay disease," unsupportive parents, and use of racist, homophobic, and transphobic slurs.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing keeping it from a 5 is my own struggle with reading musicals. On the stage, it is definitely a 5.

It's obviously brilliant. I was lucky enough to see it in New York but unfortunate enough to see it while on medication that drastically reduced my ability to fully focus, so I decided the time had finally come to acquire a copy and read it. I'm glad that I did. I took in more on stage than I thought, but I was able to connect with it more through my reading (as well as remind myself of moments that I loved but could not quite grasp when reflecting back on the show). The story is a bit complex, and I definitely need to reread it and listen to the cast album again. There's a lot of very effective humor and a lot of pain. I laughed a bit, but I also gasped. The use of the ensemble is incredible. I think when I reread I might make a list of the Thought performers to better keep them straight in the moment. Some of the lyrics are just gorgeous (and even more so when heard). It's highly reflective and throws you into a headspace that (in my case) is different from my own. I don't think I can say anything about it that hasn't already been said, so I'm leaving it at that.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The scene near the end where his mother seems SO CLOSE to finally understanding and accepting him—and then she pulls the rug out from under him one last time. Brutal.

There is no real closure, no ostensible progression. And yet the genius in this musical lies in the fact that the Jackson DID release this musical, seemingly unfinished, seemingly hopeless, into the very same world that beats its protagonist down, to the understanding and love that Usher so craves. The proof that he HAS developed as a person, and has potential beyond his anguish, is in the engagement of the audience and the staging of the show itself. The post-climactic act of revealing Usher’s story is the true ending. Usher may continue to feel worthless, but he has proven that he is something true and meaningful to say. It is the most revealing venture into the psyche of an artist I have ever seen: the accolades don’t matter, the progressions don’t register. But you keep creating, keep creating, no matter how much you feel the same inside, because it is tangible proof that you are moving at least something—whether in a strange loop or not.