Ghostlight Records and Yellow Sound Label have announced plans to release the original Broadway Cast Recording of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning musical. The Broadway premiere of the show – directed by Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, and produced by Barbara Whitman along with Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Playwrights Horizons – will begin previews at Lyceum Theatre on Wednesday, April 6, and opening night is set for Tuesday, April 26. The album will be produced by Michael Croiter and Michael R. Jackson, with Kurt Deutsch and Barbara Whitman as executive producers. It will be co-produced by Charlie Rosen, who provides orchestrations; and Rona Siddiqui, who serves as music director and music supervisor. The recording will take place on Sunday, April 10 for a release date to be announced later this season. Pre-save on Spotify now at ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/AStrangeLoopPR
The Broadway cast of A Strange Loop features Jaquel Spivey, in his Broadway debut, as Usher. He joins original cast members Antwayn Hopper (Thought 6), L Morgan Lee (Thought 1), John-Michael Lyles (Thought 3), James Jackson, Jr. (Thought 2), John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), and Jason Veasey (Thought 5). A Strange Loop features set design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costumes by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Drew Levy, casting by The Telsey Office/Destiny Lilly, with production stage manager Erin Gioia Albrecht.
Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer... Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all.
Michael R. Jackson was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for A Strange Loop.
A Strange Loop made its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, in May 2019, in association with Page 73 Productions, and was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for “Best Musical,” five Drama Desk Awards including “Best Musical,” six Outer Critics Circle Award including “Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical,” two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie awards, and an Off-Broadway Alliance Award. In December 2021, A Strange Loop played a critically-acclaimed run at Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company prior to coming to Broadway.