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tracithomas's review
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
lisawhelpley's review
I read this script and when there were songs (FYI, songs = all caps), I asked Alexa to play the song, using Amazon Music. It was a delightful way to experience a musical from home, albeit not nearly as meaningful if I'd seen it on stage. This was a captivating story, and I look forward to seeing in on stage someday.
caseydot's review
4.0
I’m sad I missed this on broadway! This was an interesting way to consume the story- I have never read a musical before. I combined this with listening to the cast album and although I think this format is certainly lacking some of the context of sets and live actors, it was a nice substitute to engage with a creative story and good music. Glad Story Graph recommended this to me as an “out of my comfort zone” pick!
rlafleur85's review
2.0
I've been wanting to read this play after it won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. I know this work received critical acclaim and praise, I'm not sure how much I enjoyed it, reading the script vs. seeing it performed. I'm not sure I'm interested in seeing a performance.
The work covers dynamic content and provides a voice to someone unseen and valued by himself and others. Usher, the protagonist interacts with six Thoughts that play various people from Usher's past and present. These Thoughts direct Usher's writing (a playwright himself) and his self-confidence and value providing reminders of the past. The dialect was direct and dialogue, at times uncomfortable. I'm grateful that Jackson's voice was valued and recognized as there is an audience for this work.
The work covers dynamic content and provides a voice to someone unseen and valued by himself and others. Usher, the protagonist interacts with six Thoughts that play various people from Usher's past and present. These Thoughts direct Usher's writing (a playwright himself) and his self-confidence and value providing reminders of the past. The dialect was direct and dialogue, at times uncomfortable. I'm grateful that Jackson's voice was valued and recognized as there is an audience for this work.
brianlarson's review
5.0
Broadway is not ready for this play. Will it ever be ready? Probably not. Between reading this script and accompanying it with the original cast recording, “A Strange Loop” is a bombastically brilliant play (within a play) within a play (within a play).
“A Strange Loop” is a “BIG, BLACK AND QUEER-ASS AMERICAN BROADWAY SHOW!” Jackson holds back no punches and dishes just desserts targeting theater critics who “deny implicit bias,” religious zealots pushing their brand of musk unto the masses, and “Sean Cody-adjacent spawns of satan.” There’s bountiful references to The Real Housewives, Designing Women, and, the mom-favorite, Tyler Perry.
Jackson describes a strange loop as “basically about how your sense of self is just a set of meaningless symbols in your brain pushing up or down through one level of abstraction to another but always winding up right back where they started.” Put another way, “It’s about a Black gay man writing a musical about a Black gay man who's writing a musical about a Black gay man who's writing a musical about a Black gay man, etc.”
The “Boundaries” number is the highlight of the play. It’s Jackson’s ode to his parents while also staking claim to his true identity as a gay Black man. Ultimately, the retrospective within a retrospective is Jackson’s wit-filled way of settling personal trauma. It’s a wholly original baptism into a new life.
Jackson’s wit takes sharp turns and ultimately forces viewers to reflect on themselves. “[As this] anti-Black world we live in gets so strung out on this color-blind "love is love" bullshit, forgetting that “love is love" will never be true until Black love matters and Black lust matters and Black queers can finally stop using white men to flatter or elevate their fucking class status and start buying into how sexy and liberating it could be to just be with each other.”
Get ready to be on loop
“A Strange Loop” is a “BIG, BLACK AND QUEER-ASS AMERICAN BROADWAY SHOW!” Jackson holds back no punches and dishes just desserts targeting theater critics who “deny implicit bias,” religious zealots pushing their brand of musk unto the masses, and “Sean Cody-adjacent spawns of satan.” There’s bountiful references to The Real Housewives, Designing Women, and, the mom-favorite, Tyler Perry.
Jackson describes a strange loop as “basically about how your sense of self is just a set of meaningless symbols in your brain pushing up or down through one level of abstraction to another but always winding up right back where they started.” Put another way, “It’s about a Black gay man writing a musical about a Black gay man who's writing a musical about a Black gay man who's writing a musical about a Black gay man, etc.”
The “Boundaries” number is the highlight of the play. It’s Jackson’s ode to his parents while also staking claim to his true identity as a gay Black man. Ultimately, the retrospective within a retrospective is Jackson’s wit-filled way of settling personal trauma. It’s a wholly original baptism into a new life.
Jackson’s wit takes sharp turns and ultimately forces viewers to reflect on themselves. “[As this] anti-Black world we live in gets so strung out on this color-blind "love is love" bullshit, forgetting that “love is love" will never be true until Black love matters and Black lust matters and Black queers can finally stop using white men to flatter or elevate their fucking class status and start buying into how sexy and liberating it could be to just be with each other.”
Get ready to be on loop
megs_bok's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nmw2412's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0