New York theater critics have given universally positive reviews to the Broadway transfer of the Pulitzer-winning musical A Strange Loop. The creative team includes Michael R. Jackson (book, music, lyrics), Stephen Brackett (direction), Raja Feather Kelly (choreography), Charlie Rosen (orchestrations), Arnulfo Maldonado (sets), Montana Levi Blanco (costumes), Jen Schriever (lights), Drew Levy (sound), and Cookie Jordan (hair & makeup). The cast includes Jaquel Spivey (Usher) with Antwayn Hopper, James Jackson, Jr., L. Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison, and Jason Veasey.
N.Y. Times (Maya Phillips): This musical … forgoes the commercial niceties and digestible narratives of many Broadway shows, delivering a story that’s searing and softhearted, uproarious and disquieting. … A Strange Loop pulls off an amazing feat: condensing a complex idea, full of paradoxes and abstractions, into the form of a Broadway musical. … The paradox at the center of it all, of course, is Usher himself, whose brazen theatricality and caustic wit lies beneath his meek exterior. Though a newcomer … Spivey gives an earnest, lived-in performance. … It’s already won the Pulitzer. And yet, it seems as if there is no measure of praise that could be too much; after all, this is a show that allows a Black gay man to be vulnerable onstage without dismissing or fetishizing his trauma, desires and creative ambitions. Now that’s some radical theater.
Talkin’ Broadway (Howard Miller): A Strange Loop … is a perfect fit for Broadway. It is a big tuneful show, a satire with heart that is smartly directed, performed by an exceptionally talented cast, and one that boasts great choreography, a terrific set design, and a wonderful array of costumes. Its content may be focused on a specific individual’s inner turmoil as he struggles to find his place in the world, but the struggle itself is a universal condition. … For all its sometimes rough language and interactions, A Strange Loop has a sense of humor about itself, and it definitely has a big heart. … It is clear that the creative team has worked in close harmony in support of this show, and the payoff is a huge one for an audience craving original new musicals.
Theater Mania (Zachary Stewart): [Jackson] brings a much-needed rebel spirit to Broadway, pushing against the boundaries of acceptable discourse to show us that, like borders, they are only an illusion — a limitation on our free expression to which we all too often consent. The result is a triumphant assertion of individuality in a world that increasingly defines us by demography, largely for the purpose of selling us products and politicians. That makes A Strange Loop the best new musical of the Broadway season. … There’s something in A Strange Loop that will probably offend you; there’s likely also something that will deeply resonate with you, that you didn’t think could be expressed onstage, but is now being shared nightly.
Time Out (Adam Feldman): A Strange Loop is a wild ride. In a Broadway landscape dominated by shows that often seem designed by corporations for audiences of focus groups, Michael R. Jackson’s musical is the defiant product of a single and singular authorial vision. This wide-ranging intravaganza takes a deep dive, often barely coming up for breath, into a whirlpool of ambition and frustration as Jackson’s seeming alter ego … struggles to define himself amid traps of sex, race, family, body image, religion and entertainment. It’s screamingly funny and howlingly hurt, and it’s unmissable. … “I’m into entertainment that’s undercover art,” sings Usher of his ambitions for A Strange Loop. Jackson’s musical delivers on that promise. 5 out of 5 stars.