The rest of his family appear and the call quickly devolves. Usher's father asks him on a phone call if he has HIV like his cousin Darnell had. The patron advises him to live his life without fear ("A Sympathetic Ear"). Usher sings through the process of writing the play, acting out all the characters as caricatures ("Writing a Gospel Play").īack at his job, Usher tells a patron about how he can't continue the show without confronting his parents with his artistic self.
And the ancestors" ("Tyler Perry Writes Real Life"). In the appearance of famous Black figures such as Harriet Tubman, Carter G Woodson, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, “ Twelve Years A Slave,” and Whitney Houston, his Thoughts accuse him of being a race traitor and persuade him to take the ghostwriting job for "for the money. Usher sings about his low opinion of Tyler Perry’s work. Usher's agent calls, informing him that Tyler Perry is seeking a ghostwriter for a gospel play. Usher sings about how "the second-wave feminist in is at war with the dick-sucking Black gay man" ("Second Wave"). Joshlet dismisses Usher and his Thoughts ask him what his problem is. But the fact that you can recognize the illusion proves it exists." The stranger introduces himself as Joshlet and the two flirt, before Joshlet explains that he's a figment of Usher's imagination. Usher explains that "A Strange Loop" is a cognitive science term about how "your ability to conceive of yourself as an 'I' is. Usher rages against the ways in which the gay community is also discriminatory ("Exile In Gayville").Ī stranger on a train asks about what Usher is writing.
Usher "enters the sexual marketplace" through the use of various gay dating apps, where he is rejected for being "too black, too fat, too feminine," and for having too small of a dick. Usher’s father calls, leaving a message to let him know that he was able to find Scott Rudin’s number online, and despite the fact that his father does not condone homosexuality, Usher has student loans to pay off and should leverage their common sexuality to make a connection ("Didn't Want Nothin'").Īt a medical checkup, Usher's doctor inquires about Usher's sex life and preemptively prescribes him Truvada, pressuring Usher to have more sex. After the song, Usher's Thoughts criticize "Inner White Girl," the show, and advise him that the main character should have more sex appeal or that he should add elements of "slavery or police violence so that the allies in the audience have something ' intersectional' to hold on to." Hanging up, Usher sings about how he wishes he could act more like his "inner white girl" while he is held back by expectations put on Black boys ("Inner White Girl"). She then requests that Usher write a Tyler Perry-style gospel play in return ("We Wanna Know"). He gets a call from his mother, who asks about "what's going on in life" and reminds him of the work she and his father (both named after characters in The Lion King) went through to raise him. Usher wants to change himself, but his Thoughts are too disruptive ("Today"). Usher wonders if and how he should write A Strange Loop to represent what it's like to "travel the world in a fat, black, queer body" and the pressures of doing so ("Intermission Song").Īfter work, Usher sings about how he plans "to change this show for the better" as his Thoughts interject, reminding him of his self-loathing, student loans, issues on Black pride, and his repressed sexuality. Usher, working as an actual usher for The Lion King, informs the audience about what the show will entail. The chorus, depicted as Usher's Thoughts, calls Usher's name out many times. ( April 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. The title refers to a cognitive science term coined by Douglas Hofstadter, as well as the song by Liz Phair. The show follows Usher, a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer.
A Strange Loop also won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
At the 75th Tony Awards, A Strange Loop earned a leading 11 nominations and won for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on April 26, 2022, following previews beginning April 14. The Washington, DC production was postponed to December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the show had its world premiere off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in co-production with Productions. A Strange Loop is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Michael R.