Broadway Review “A Strange Loop”: Pulitzer-Winning Musical Brings Newcomer Jaquel Spivey in the Spotlight

Allow usher, central – alone? -Michael R. Jackson’s hilarious musical character and Pulitzer Prize winner strange cycleTo show up.

He tells us: “A young homosexual and / or gay and / or widower overweight and obese, a gay, educated in a university and a graduate school, who writes a musical theater, one of the founders of Disney, is spoiled. The politically homeless bourgeois norm is a descendant of leftist black American slaves who thinks he’s probably the latest version, but he’s not entirely convinced he’s obsessed with the latest project of his self-referential musical. strange cycle! And surrounded by his extremely disgusting thoughts! “

It is reflected in a comedy so comfortably populated by Broadway newcomer Jakel Speive that we will forgive you for assuming he wrote it. strange cycleAsher gets its name from the makeshift Lion King A job that (barely) pays the bills before writing the autobiographical musical of his dreams. He is, in short (and in his words), “a black gay who writes a musical about a black gay, writes a musical about a black gay, writes a musical about a black gay and so on.

Even though Asher is, in a sense, the only character strange cycle (Opening today at the Broadway Lyceum Theater), Spive isn’t the only actor: he’s surrounded by those “extremely unpleasant thoughts” that swirl in his brain and don’t give him peace of mind. One is the voice of daily self-contempt, the other is a sexual ambivalence supervisor, an agent named Fairweather, various union appointments, and other internal monitors telling him he’s not black enough or gay enough, skinny enough or not. has enough money.

And then there are his politically and religiously conservative mother and father, who always scold him against sin, hell and AIDS and beg him to write a beautiful gospel musical like Tyler Perry (or “Toxic Tyler Perry”, like Usher). .the tycoon). he calls him; we more, more, we will see before Perry strange cycle call today).

Directed by Stephen Brackett, Raja Fitter Kelly’s skilful choreography describes Jackson’s incredibly cheeky party. strange cycle It surprises us as Asher concludes this ridiculous introduction. If the show starts to lose a bit of vigor, but at least, towards the end, it’s only because Jackson has already expressed his thoughts so clearly, determined and victorious.

As for this title, Asher explains it first:

Okay, don’t go to sleep, but it’s a cognitive science term coined by this guy named Douglas Hofstadter. And this is basically about how your sense of self is kind of a paradox. Because of how you imagine your ability as “me” to be just an illusory cycle of meaningless characters in your brain going from one level of abstraction to another, but always ending where it started. Yes, I don’t understand anything. But it’s also called the Liz Phair song, which I love.

As Asher’s doubts, hopes and opinions come to him, and it’s really cool to see them all, the musical presents a complex portrait of a separate creation (signaled by a new theatrical sound) that stands up to any effort (including himself. Asher). . Categorization.

And no matter how friendly Asher and this musical are, they can both be cruel and merciless. This lengthy explanation of the show’s title is impressively delivered to a very promising potential partner who seems genuinely interested in Asher’s aspirations (and finds it irresistibly sexual). Then the hook, when asked where he lives, says, “I live in your imagination. I’m obviously white. 6’3”, with soft brown eyes, a casual six-piece tummy, a tan scrub, and a slick haircut. alternating elegant and well cared for. I have a huge pink male, full of incredibly low bushes and balls that you will never have the privilege of trying. And the fact that even in a moment of weakness you allow yourself to stumble upon an imaginative Dick like me, when you will probably just have to kill yourself, is proof of the terrifying power of White Geitarchy.

Jackson is particularly effective in taking down the groups that would be Asher’s natural allies in the perfect world: a gay society in which racism is just as challenging as in any other society (of course, in a theatrical society); Black peers who look in disgust at Asher and the “white girl” pop music he loves; A family whose homophobia is deeper than love; And also the ancestors themselves, who are resurrected in a distinctive scene (and activated by thoughts) so as not to give total comfort to their spiritual heir. Here is Harriet Tabman and the Oscar winner 12 years a slave Slave and Marcus Mosia Garvey, Jimmy Baldwin, Zora Neil Houston and one of the musical’s biggest laughs, Whitney Houston, come out of a neon box. And no one has the consolation offered.

Indeed, Asher is particularly criticized by his ancestors for rejecting a man who, from his mother to agent, appears to be the epitome of what Asher hopes to achieve. Here are the punitive ancestors speaking with one voice: “Tyler Perry writes real life. You write stories we can swallow, like Pope’s chicken and cookies. ”He Wastes no time, everyone says they write musicals about musicals.

loose narrative strange cycle Based on both decisions: Asher was offered a job to write a new gospel musical for Perry and the sequence where we see what Perry’s musical would look like if Asher (and, one might assume, Jackson) could write. Him. The scene where Spivey-usher-as-Perry-as-Medea – a really weird loop – is as devastating as it is fun and exciting as this imaginary encounter with a thirsty racist. Jackson has no qualms about exposing “toxic Tyler” and Christian benevolence, which embellishes the deep, profound homophobia that accompanies southern children and cousins ​​like Asher to their graves.

Spive, in this scene and throughout the musical, is an artistic marvel that quickly and skillfully passes from laughter to pain, from music to monologues, becoming each time a fabulous, mixed, physically different whole that expresses thoughts and parents, ghosts and ghosts. . They perform a mocking and totally degrading graphic sexual act.)

Played by Antine Hopper, L. Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, James Jackson, Jr., John-Andrew Morrison and Jason Weiss, these thoughts create a special theater company. You don’t want them to whisper Yours Listen 24/7, but you’ll be happy Jackson and Spive are there to deliver messages with such humanity. Asher may never run away from them, but he will never stop trying, and this is a more noble than strange circle.