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A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons

A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons

FactsAreFacts
#1A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/24/19 at 5:37pm

The first performance is tonight for this new musical by Michael R. Jackson. I would love to hear what people think, and how long the show is running. Thanks. 

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uncageg
#2A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/24/19 at 6:42pm

I am also very interested in hearing about this musical. I plan to get a ticket.


Just give the world Love.

Mitch101
#3A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/24/19 at 8:52pm

I was at a 54 concert of the songs. The lyrics were beyond inept and the music was derivative and boring. But it had lots of heart and everyone seemed to be into it.

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Ledaero
#4A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/25/19 at 12:05am

Was at the first preview tonight and the audience went nuts for it. My friend and I though really didn’t like it.

I found the show to be a very fascinating concept. The book works very well on the surface, with the general ideas and arcs it explores from scene-to-scene. But the production suffers tremendously by Stephen Brackett’s direction. This is the 4th production of his that I’ve seen, and I have not liked anything whatsoever that he’s done. I find his staging archetypal, flat, and unexplored, often feeling like a sitcom on Freeform with no depth. Everything is manic and unfocused in this production, the social justice is unintelligibly off-the-charts, and very little feels well executed.

The score also suffers. While his lyrics are interesting (usually), he often crams too many words/syllables into lines to where the lyrics can’t be understood. I often thought of Sondheim’s rule that the understanding of the lyrics is more important than any sort of melodic line or joke, and Jackson’s lyrics are a clear example of the issues that arise when the rule is not followed. The diction is also pretty horrendous, and in general with the lack of consonant articulation I lost probably 30% of the lyrics in the show. The music is also rather uninteresting, pulling from basic contemporary pop/rock and a little bit from 70s/80s pop. In general the songs sound pretty much all the same with minimal range. The only stand-out in my opinion was the “Memories” song at the end.

In general the first half is better than the second. The show really starts to suffer of deep unfocused writing after the Daddy sequence, and there are a handful of numbers that can be axed entirely, especially a song that the mother sings to Usher.

The show was slated to run 100 minutes and it ran 112 minutes. Trimming is definitely necessary. I hope the show improves throughout previews because for the most part I like the content on paper, but it’s so drowned out by Brackett’s awful direction and social justice that it doesn’t feel the piece is done justice.

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bekk99
#5A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/30/19 at 6:58am

Any more reports? I’m supposed to go next week.

BroadwayBen
#6A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/30/19 at 12:19pm

I saw this last night, and I thought it was sort of amazing.   What's he's dealing with in this musical is kind of shocking and thrilling and I can't stop thinking about some parts of it.   It's really brave.   I think it's not perfect, but when its great, its great.  I really liked a lot of the music too.  

InTheBathroom1
#7A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/30/19 at 4:04pm

I really enjoyed this on Saturday! Is it perfect? No. But it has so much heart and love baked in. The score is quite catchy, especially a song near the end called “Memory Song”. The cast is uniformly great, especially Larry Owens who plays Usher. I haven’t heard of most of the cast and it was quite the treat to see them shine. I think it’s really special and made me realize that we don’t see many scores written by black men in musical theatre. This is a voice that has gone largely oppressed, especially in musical theatre and it’s truly special to see something like this being produced by a major Off-Broadway company. I promise you have never seen anything like this before. I agree that it derailed a little bit after “inwood daddy” and the gospel bit at the end went on for way too long. Sound was having some issues and it was hard to understand all of the lyrics, but I liked what I heard. My other problem is with Stephen Brackett’s direction. This is the fourth production I have seen directed by him and his productions always end up feeling chaotic and messy but not in a good way. I feel like with a better director this could be incredible. Just my thoughts though.

OffOnBwayHi
#8A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 5/30/19 at 4:09pm

I saw this last weekend. I found it to be remarkable. It dares to go places most musicals would never. It's way edgier than the key art and show description leads you to believe. Brace yourself.

I agree that it runs a bit long and could prob be cut in some places. (Where? I have no clue...) It is also a very manic piece. It's all over the place in a way that I believe is done purposely. I mean, it's all about six of the protagonist's thoughts speaking to him, giving him ideas, and reliving his memories. You can't really control your thoughts, right?

It is quite an original effort. Never seen anything like it. Definitely go see it for yourself.

However, if you're not black or gay, or more specifically, both black and gay, a lot of references may fly over your head. It truly emerges the audience in a very specific perspective. You either will relate very closely, or learn about things you could never have understood or known about unless you are a member of that very specific group. 

I think it's gonna be impossible to get a ticket once it opens, a la Jeremy O. Harris' 'Slave Play'. It's in the same vein of that show, but wilder, yet strangely lighter.

Updated On: 5/30/19 at 04:09 PM

JaglinSays
#9A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/1/19 at 1:31am

So very amateurish.

rg7759
#10A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/1/19 at 3:09pm

perhaps never been so satisfied with a ticket purchase. its so complete. not sure where else this could play, so if you liked daddy, or anything outrageous, you should do anything in your power to see it.

whatdoesntkillme
#11A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/8/19 at 9:23pm

The most unapologetic show I’ve ever seen. Larry Owens gives a truly tour de force performance. The show is kind of a mess but that’s okay because life is kind of a mess. I didn’t mind.

I agree that the direction is the weak point. But the cast is superb, and the spirit of the whole thing is so admirable. I saw so many things onstage which I’ve never seen represented off-Broadway before, and it felt like a really special show. Today’s matinee audience went wild. I hope we see more of Jackson in the future. He’s a singular voice that’s not to be reckoned with. If you can get a ticket, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

annang
#12A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/8/19 at 11:20pm

Sometimes I see a show and think, “I can’t wait to see what this artist is going to do next.” And after seeing A Strange Loop tonight, that’s how I feel about Jackson. The writing is excellent, and he’s incredibly talented. But it’s also clear that he has a lot of (important, heavy, relevant, understandable) personal demons he’s grappling with. This felt like the musical version of someone making a big breakthrough in therapy. Which was fascinating to watch, though ultimately not a musical I’d likely see more than once, or listen to a recording of. But I’m really curious to see what comes next, now that this layer of demons has been exorcised. Because he has amazing insight and humor and big ideas.

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haterobics
#13A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/8/19 at 11:46pm

These polarizing shows are always hard to pin down..can't sort out which side of things I would land on yet.

LxGstv
#14A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/16/19 at 3:33pm

Tonight’s performance has been canceled due to actor illness. I believe it opens tomorrow?

OffOnBwayHi
#15A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/16/19 at 6:21pm

LxGstv said: "Tonight’s performance has been canceled due to actor illness. I believe it opens tomorrow?"

Oh no! And yes, it does open tomorrow. Most likely all the critics have already seen and are preparing reviews. Very curious to see what they’ll say...

LarryD2
#16A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/17/19 at 8:50am

The final three press previews (Saturday night and both shows Sunday) were all canceled. 

cjmclaughlin10
#17A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/17/19 at 1:49pm

I was already looking forward to seeing the show next week, but I just found Mr. Jackson’s appearance on the Call and Response podcast (8/4/2017) and I am FLOORED

InTheBathroom1
#18A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/17/19 at 10:38pm

Critics Pick in the Times along with a slew of other pretty solid reviews, with some qualms. I’m thrilled to see these great reviews. Hope we get a cast recording!

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BJR
#19A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/18/19 at 9:03am

Where's the BroadwayWorld Review Roundup?

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CarmenA3
#20A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 6/18/19 at 5:40pm

I also saw the show and was impressed with the originality of it.  It's not afraid to be what it is - and who doesn't love all the "thoughts" LOL

Is it perfect? Definitely not, but I think it's off to a great start. Funny, cute, unapologetically gay, catchy music. All make for a fun night. I hope Mr. Jackson is able to continue refining it. Looking forward to more of his work.

VintageSnarker
#21A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 7/6/19 at 12:44am

More thoughts later but if there were ever issues with the sound, I think they've been cleared up. I understood everything fine. I'm surprised at the comments about the direction. I've definitely seen worse. There wasn't a point where the direction detracted from the show for me but I suppose I was more focused on the performances than the aesthetics/production for this show (though I did think the costuming was solid). 

Anyway, I'm in the camp of thinking this is well worth seeing. I didn't find it any messier than other works that deal with mental illness/anxiety or artists navel gazing about their art. Even as it jumped from topic to topic, it never lost me. There was never any down time where I started to get a little bored or I stepped back. It's a show that demands that you're fully present to take it all in. I have very little patience for what I see as edgelord-y shock tactics. To me, this show was just honest and anything "shocking" came from interrogating real bitterness and pain and not from a desire to startle the audience. 

cjmclaughlin10
#22A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 7/28/19 at 9:01am

Playwrights Horizons website has three tickets for tonight’s final performance ($109 premium)

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haterobics
#23A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 7/28/19 at 10:38am

Caught this yesterday, so so good...

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haterobics
#24A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:32pm

Cast recording happening right now! A few Instagram stories from the cast confirm...

Pashacar
#25A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons
Posted: 8/2/19 at 2:24pm

haterobics said: "Cast recording happening right now! A few Instagram stories from the cast confirm..."

Ahh thank god! This was the best new score this year!