Actor’s Express staging Pulitzer Prize-winning musical ‘A Strange Loop’

A Strange Loop runs at Actor s Express from July to Aug Photo provided by Actor s Express On Broadway A Strange Loop with a book music and lyrics by Michael R Jackson won virtually every Best Musical award realizable in including the Tony Hailed for its inventiveness the Pulitzer Prize-winning show tells the story of Usher a Black gay man who is writing a musical about a Black gay man who himself is also writing a musical about a Black gay man It may sound confusing but rest assured A Strange Loop is full of terrific music enjoyment and Black queerness Actor s Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley has needed to stage the show for quite chosen time and he s eventually getting his chance A Strange Loop will run at Actor s Express July through Aug Director Amanda Washington a veteran of several shows at Actor s Express and actor Eddie Weaver who headlines as Usher in his first Atlanta production spoke to Georgia Voice in recent months about the upcoming musical This interview has been edited for length and clarity What drew both of you to this material Eddie Weaver I saw it on Broadway and I related so much to the story to Usher I remember the first time I heard the soundtrack I thought it was so new and fresh I knew once the opportunity came up I needed to audition for it It s a story I think everyone can relate to They can find bits and pieces to take away from it Amanda Washington I did not see it on Broadway but Freddie Ashley informed me he thought I d enjoy directing this My response was We ll see it s a musical I listened to it and I think the next day I came to him and noted Sign me up It s fresh but raw open and vulnerable The approach and how we get there is a whirlwind and that is the part I really liked It felt like a beautiful challenge I desired to take on Eddie can you tell us about Usher Weaver Usher is a beautiful character He is complex and a product of his habitat He is a -year-old queer gay man who is a Disney usher who is a musical theater writer on this journey to write this beautiful piece He is very emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve I think it s going to be a lot of fun to share him with an audience Who are the other characters in the show Washington They are Usher s thoughts How I described it to the cast is that they re little seeds that grew up too fast and became their own beings until Usher is able to get them under control There are good ones and then the bad things that we think about ourselves and they are all heightened almost to exaggerated levels Why did this show catch on the way it did Washington It s not a linear story We think we are getting a story about a playwright who is emerging into the world and that is what we get but we also get the root of how we got there and see the things he is struggling with We don t know if he is going to make it but we do know by the end of the play that he is one step further in terms of his journey and where he wants to be in his life Weaver I think this show is crucial right now because of the times we are living in and the presidential administration we have I feel now there is a lot of erasure of a lot of communities and I think this show does a wonderful job of shedding light on the queer population being queer and Black in spaces where there aren t a lot of queer Black people I think this show also does a good job of showing that everyone has those thoughts in the back of your head and those doubts Washington It s a particular niche here Usher is a man of size he is Black and he is queer In a way he is also on this timeline his parents are asking him when he is going to get married and get them chosen grandbabies But it s also about when his career is going to launch getting to see that aspect of not just trying to find love but to try and find stable income and figure out when you re going to hit the mark of success That story s all in one that I think a lot of people can relate to That story from a queer lens requirements to be amplified as well The post Actor s Express staging Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta