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<\/a>(L to R) J. Cameron Barnett, Tarra Conner Jones, Jamari Johnson Williams, John-Andrew Morrison, Malachi McCaskill, Jordan Barbour, and Avionce Hoyles. Photo by Alessandra Mello, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n
With no judgement of merit, I tell you that A Strange Loop<\/em> is definitely not your parents\u2019 Broadway musical! So please do some research to make sure you want to see it; not every<\/em> Tony-winning show is for the masses, no matter how celebrated, hip, and happening it is.<\/p>\n But, as this e-zine states, \u201cit\u2019s not about me,\u201d so I have to tell you that on opening night, just about the entire audience went nuts for it. There was even one guy who came in from New Jersey to see it\u2026for the fifty-first time<\/em>!<\/p>\n Although it turned-out to not be my cup of tea, I always appreciate the opportunity to see a whole range of theatrical experiences. Even though in the same category of award-winning Broadway musical, My Fair Lady<\/em> it is not<\/em>! It\u2019s actually unlike any<\/em> show I have ever seen, and different, which A Strange Loop<\/em> definitely is, is a good thing in the theatre world.<\/p>\n I read somewhere that the playwright, Michael R. Jackson, wanted to make his audience uncomfortable. Well, as far as my friend and I go, mission accomplished! My young pal pointed-out just how uncomfortable we both were, (along with some others we spoke with,) during the more carnal aspects of the presentation, even though, in general, we\u2019re interested to learn about what other people go through in life, even when it\u2019s painful.<\/p>\n The dreaded old Glamorene bottle! See what I mean about it being a “strange loop?”<\/p><\/div>\n The official description is \u201ca young, gay, Black writer who hates his day job, writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer…a strange loop.\u201d The character reveals that \u201ca strange loop\u201d refers to a scientific principle which I later found-out \u201carises when, by moving only upwards or downwards through the system, one finds oneself back where one started.\u201d As soon as I heard about A Strange Loop<\/em> at the Tonys two years ago, it instantly reminded me of one of my family possessions that haunted me when I was a tot\u2014the dreaded Glamorene bottle, which is my own \u201cstrange loop!\u201d [Note: On the label of the bottle of carpet cleaner is a picture of a woman standing next to a bottle of Glamorene. And that<\/em> bottle has the same picture. So that means that it goes on in perpetuity! Trying to figure-out when it would all end drove me crazy as a kid, and it still does today. I need to know that things have a finite lifespan. But hopefully for the rest of you, that\u2019s just me.]<\/p>\n In addition to the main dude, (named \u201cUsher\u201d because his job is\u2014you guessed it\u2014being an usher in a theatre,) the cast consists of five men and one woman who are the embodiment of the \u201cThoughts\u201d in his head. (For you Disney fans, my friend astutely likened them to the quintet of \u201cemotions\u201d that accompany the little girl in Inside Out<\/em>. Only in A Strange Loop<\/em>, they\u2019re very<\/em> grown-up ones!)<\/p>\n And every single one of those actors at the Ahmanson is extremely talented, with J. Cameron Barnett being my favorite. That hexad give it more<\/em> than their all at every moment. How do those actors have that much energy?!<\/p>\n The “Thoughts”: Avionce Hoyles, Jordan Barbour, J. Cameron Barnett, Tarra Conner Jones, John-Andrew Morrison, and Jamari Johnson Williams. Photo by Alessandra Mello.<\/p><\/div>\n As far as the actual music<\/em> goes, (because, after all, A Strange Loop is<\/em> a musical,) I\u2019m no expert, so this next thought had eluded me, but a few audience members who make their living in that field pointed-out that there was not even one hummable tune. The gospel song Precious Little Dream\/AIDS Is God’s Punishment<\/em> is the best one of the production for me. (By the way, it\u2019s a tad weird that the song list is not in the program. I wonder if that exclusion was on purpose or just a mistake.)<\/p>\n Most of the presentation is comedic, especially references to Tyler Perry\u2019s works, which the assemblage guffawed at. But I hate that the \u201cThoughts\u201d seem to keep encouraging Usher to commit suicide. I feel that\u2019s very irresponsible for a script to tell anyone<\/em>, especially a self-proclaimed \u201cfat, black, gay guy.\u201d I cringed every time they told him to \u201cKill yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n So now, to explain my thoughts on the premise itself, my own life experience could not be further from that of the central character; I\u2019m obviously not black or gay, although I have been more than a tad plump a few times, (as Usher says he<\/em> is, calling himself \u201cfat,\u201d a word I\u2019m loathe to use on anyone other than myself.) I also didn\u2019t have religious parents, and am barely familiar with Tyler Perry and had not even heard of Liz Phair, (a singer they also mention a few times.) But I do<\/em> have a thirst to learn of the experiences of others, so I\u2019m not at all invalidating the narrative in this show. I don\u2019t care how<\/em> people live their lives, or what they do as consenting adults. As long as they\u2019re good people, in general, (meaning not murderers or rapists or looters\u2026you get the idea.) I\u2019m just saying that I do not want to hear about the sexual experiences of others, even those of my pals, and definitely not on a stage in an entertainment, even in amusing songs. So I disliked those parts as much as I did the suicide talk.<\/p>\n My friend and I chatted with several audience members afterward, most of whom we know, and one guy, (who sees every<\/em> show he can,) told us that he was happily surprised that A Strange Loop<\/em> is more sophisticated than he expected. So that\u2019s a plus.<\/p>\n ( L to R) Tarra Conner Jones, Jordan Barbour, John-Andrew Morrison, Malachi McCaskill, Avionce Hoyles, J. Cameron Barnett, and Jamari Johson Williams. Photo by Alessandra Mello.<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m not going to betray what else they, (and others I\u2019ve spoken with since the opening,) had to say, but it turns-out that I\u2019m not the only who didn\u2019t love the show\u2014several people have told me they\u2019re afraid to say it out loud because they don\u2019t want to be \u201ccancelled.\u201d Just hearing what they had to say made me feel not so alone in my assessment.<\/p>\n But if you\u2019re a theatre aficionado who likes to keep abreast of what\u2019s happening on Broadway these days, you might like to see A<\/em> Strange Loop<\/em>, anyway, while you have this easy opportunity, even if the topic<\/em> is not up your alley, either.<\/p>\n However, I do<\/em> have to warn parents who are thinking of bringing their children to see this very-decorated and recommended Broadway show that abusive sex is depicted on stage, as well as many uses of the n-word, the v-word, and several c-words. I would advise that this is not appropriate for young people. (Nor, actually, for me<\/em>!) [Note: After searching for some kind of age restriction for audience members, I finally found this small warning far down on the A Strange Loop<\/em> page of the theatre\u2019s website: Recommended for ages 16 and up. This production contains explicit language, references to racism, sexual assault, homophobia, HIV Stigmatization and scenes of an adult nature.]<\/p>\n Let me sum it up this way for you\u2014I would venture a guess that high schools will not be clamoring for the rights to produce A Strange Loop<\/em> themselves.<\/p>\n But, as always, I applaud the Ahmanson for their range of offerings. Earlier this year, they treated us to yet another incredible ballet by the brilliant Sir Matthew Bourne, and then just last month we got the classic \u201860s musical, Funny Girl<\/em>, and now this one. This is perhaps their most eclectic season ever, and the shows are almost all<\/em> musicals! The Tony Awards will be presented this coming Sunday, so I look forward to discovering new shows on it that we may get to see in L.A. in the coming years.<\/p>\n The strange loop of Karen Salkin holding the A Strange Loop program in front of the pre-show curtain. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Now, here are a few extra thoughts on the proceedings:<\/p>\n The cast talks about (and shows<\/em>) Popeye\u2019s fried chicken a few times, so don\u2019t go to the theatre hungry. As soon as I saw that famous orange box, I started salivating. I love those chicken sandwiches! (And their mac \u2019n cheese, too.)<\/p>\n Another reason not to be hungry is that A Strange Loop<\/em> is almost two hours long, with no intermission!<\/p>\n And even though it\u2019s almost summer, dress in layers. For one of the very few times ever, we were freezing in the theater!<\/p>\n Someone involved with this show told me that there are different activities planned for after some of the shows, (such as the dance party on the plaza on opening night,) so you might like to check those out.<\/p>\n Now I look forward to the Ahmanson\u2019s next production\u2014Clue<\/em>\u2014(not<\/em> the musical version)\u2014which, as a many time winner of the board game, is much more my speed.<\/p>\n A Strange Loop<\/em> running through June 30, 2024<\/strong> A STRANGE LOOP AT THE AHMANSON I have a feeling that this review will be much longer than necessary, but I have a lot to explain. The quick version is that there is sooooo much talent on the Ahmanson stage, but I didn\u2019t love the show, although I realize that I\u2019m in the minority. Now<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Ahmanson Theatre \u00a0135 N. Grand Avenue<\/strong>
\n \u2028213-972-4400\u00a0www.centertheatregroup.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"