"A Strange Loop" Arrives at the Ahmanson

Michael r. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize winning musical “A Strange Loop” has arrived at the Ahmanson.

Starring Malachi McCaskill as Usher, a 25-year-old self-proclaimed ‘fat, black and queer’ usher at the Lion King musical on Broadway, who is an aspiring musical theater writer who is writing a musical about an aspiring musical theater writer. His constant companions are his six judgmental Thoughts including his inner negative and self-sabotaging criticisms, sex partners, historical black figures and his mother and father. The Thoughts are expertly played by Jordan Barbour, J Cameron Bartnett, Carlis Shane Clark, Avoice Hayles, Tarra Conner Jones and John-Andrew Morrison.

The set usually comprises of a brick backdrop with six doorways allowing Usher’s thoughts to appear. There is a lot of Tyler Perry bashing and an offer for Usher to ghostwrite a Tyler Perry gospel musical, a big gospel featuring an “AIDS is God’s Punishment” number and plenty of well written and moving songs including “Inner White Girl,” “Exile in Gaywood,” “Second Wave,” “Memory Song,” and “A Strange Loop.” We travel with Usher as he navigates his way through a world that is uninterested in his point of view and does not want to acknowledge him for his size, sexuality or race.

Like Douglas Hofstadter’s term “A Strange Loop,” the audience goes through many emotional stages up and down to end up back where it all started, for Usher to reveal that change is ultimately an illusion.

“A Strange Loop” is playing at the Ahmanson Theatre through June 30, Tuesday through Sunday, Tuesday – Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 1pm and 6:30pm.

Tickets at https://www.ahmansontheatre.net.