Theatre Review: A Strange Loop Shows The Pain of Identity Politics

Watching A Strange Loop was an emotional experience because, in this world, it is not just that diverse representation is lacking in presence, it is also lacking in nuance. Thus, to see a musical about a black, queer man writing a musical about a black queer man writing a musical about a black queer man….. was like watching a rare but raw heart. Written by Michael R. Jackson, the one-act, 105 minute musical is a hilarious, gut-wrenching dive into the emotional experience of someone completely outcasted by society.

Usher, in name and job, is either outcasted or fetishized by gays because he is “too black.” “too femme,” and “too fat,” outcasted by his black and Christian communities because he is “too gay,” and outcasted by society because, again, he is “too black,” “too gay,” and “too poor.” Larry Owens is phenomenal as Usher. He is fiercely smart and bitter as he catches society’s hypocrisies like lightning bolts but still feels the burns on his heart’s hands. He is so aware about how much is against him and what little chance he has to overcome so many socio-political odds. We can sit here and act like if you just try hard, stay focused, and act positive, then you can do anything. Yet, A Strange Loop shows this might be the lie we tell ourselves to ignore the truth about prejudice.

Directed by and with much from Stephen Brackett, the entire show is catchy in song and snark. The wit is biting to, at times, a cringing state, which I love. A Strange Loop gets real and does not mind questioning everything and anything. From whether Tyler Perry pushes black stereotypes or is a beacon for black presence in entertainment to the still persistent danger and belief that AIDS is a “gay thing,” I found this musical refreshing because it says what is unsaid. The result is a show that truly invites EVERYONE to the theater to have an experience. The crowd was filled with people of color, LGBTQ members, and rich, white heterosexuals that either understood Usher’s experience or witnessing, for the first time, “black queers” alienation.

Everybody holds a prejudice, but not everybody will be prejudiced against. It is a, particularly, devastating life when you fit nearly every “minority” category: fat, gay, poor, and dark-skinned black man. It is no wonder Usher has an “inner white girl” that he dreams of being; she could, truly, have an easier life. Sure, everyone suffers, but some have it easier or have enough privilege to deal with that truth, which is not only Usher’s point but his demons. Antwayn Hopper,  L Morgan Lee, John-Andrew Morrison, Jason Veasey, James Jackson, Jr., and John-Michael Lyles are magnificent in how they interchange roles as Usher’s demons, family, and the strangers’ he meets in his self-loathing journey.

Prejudice really does make you hate yourself. I like to compare the first time I suffered a racist, classist, and sexist act to being brutally stabbed and expected not to bleed. That is what it felt like in spirit, and A Strange Loop gives permission to those that have suffered the cruelties of hate and discrimination to say, “It, actually, hurts!” It does fracture our identity, of which we are constantly trying to heal, like a strange loop. The title/ the character’s journey is inspired by Douglas Hofstadter’s I Am A Strange Loop; a book analyzing the concept of self.

One interpretation of Hofstader’s theory is that the concept of “I” is self-less; born from things that do not exist, but, in acknowledging that they do not exist, they become real. In this way, social hierarchies and labels are non-existent; machinated and manifested into societal systems by human minds. Thus, Usher is not a “fat, gay, poor, and dark-skinned black man,” but, in being identified as such by others, he feels tethered to identify and thus suffer the tragedies imposed for being seen as such. In a heart-warming, yet sad end, Usher concludes he can’t change who he is in a society that won’t change how it sees and treats him. Yet, perhaps, his only solution to survive is to “regrow” and sprout a more self-loving perception of himself.

A Strange Loop plays at Playwright Horizons until July 7. Click Here To Buy Tickets.