As A strange loop is nearing its end Broadway run, creator Michael R. Jackson said he’s not sure if Tyler Perry, a name mentioned repeatedly in the musical, will ever come to watch it.
The mogul is pilloried throughout the show as the main character, Usher, first turns down an assignment to write a gospel play for Perry and then blows up the concept by creating caricatures of Perry characters in a family drama, complete with a gospel choir singing. AIDS is God’s punishment.” Jackson said he has spoken to Perry on the phone and maintains a “nice little relationship” with him, but isn’t sure he wants to come and see that.
“I told him, ‘If it’s going to stress you out, don’t come,'” Jackson told the audience during a talkback held Tuesday after the show and hosted by Trevor Noah.
Outside of the Perry storyline, the musical revolves around Usher as he struggles to write about his life and absorb the complexities of his identity in a “big, black, and strange” Broadway show. His writing process is complicated by his own intrusive thoughts, which are brought to life on stage by an ensemble of six actors.
The musical premiered on Broadway in April 2022 and is now scheduled to end on January 15. As the cast nears its end, Jaquel Spivey, who has played Usher since the musical’s pre-Broadway tryout in 2021, said he’s learned to lean more on his character’s uncertain fate.
Spivey said he always believed Usher had reached a final resolution at the end of the musical, at a time when he finally embraced some of his imperfections and seems to be finishing the musical he was trying to write. But now Spivey said he wants to leave the question of his character’s success more open.
“I want the audience at the end of the show to wonder what happens next. I don’t want you to think he’s made up his mind,” Spivey said.
Much of this pivot came after Spivey learned to separate the show, which won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical, from the accolades and character of Usher from Jackson. Jackson, who shares several biographical traits with the lead character, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for a strange loop, making the character’s success seem inevitable.
“Honestly, I had to take Michael out of the equation after a long time. Like what happens if he doesn’t win the Pulitzer? What happens if he doesn’t get nominated for a Grammy? He’s still worth it. What happens if people don’t like the show? He still has value,” said Spivey, who has played Usher since 2021 and was nominated for the role ahead of Tony.
The openness is part of why Noah, who said he’s seen the show four times, keeps coming back.
“Every time I come I feel like I’m focusing on something else and there’s another part of the play that’s almost revealed to me,” Noah said. “It’s radical. It’s layered. It’s complicated.”
And that’s the conceit Jackson says he’s been trying to create in a show that explores themes of religion and homophobia, racism, colorism and body shaming within the gay community, and black male identities. The process of seeing this character express himself on stage wasn’t exactly “liberating” for Jackson, but he said it was a validating artistic experience to see how the show continues to draw audiences and offer different interpretations.
“For me to come back to it and see it still working, still playing itself out, that feels the most exciting to me,” Jackson said.