If you’re a New York City queer theatergoer, you’ve probably met Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer.He’s also the central character in Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical A Strange Loop.
A hit of the 2022-23 Broadway season (after nearly two decades of workshops and successful productions at DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Off-Broadway’s Playwright Horizons, the big, Black, beautiful musical finally arrives in Los Angeles at Center Theatre Group (CTG)’s Ahmanson Theatre — a co-production San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.
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Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “A Strange Loop” arrives on Broadway, dismantling everything we believed a Broadway musical “should” be.
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Queerty has long been a fan of the show and honored Jackson as part of last year’s Pride 50. Actor John-Andrew Morrison has been part of the production since early workshops and earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Thought 4 (one of six supporting actors that frame Usher’s storytelling).
As described by CTG, A Strange Loop “exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble.”
“It’s like stepping back to admire an extraordinary portrait of the artist as a tangle of contradictions, desires and painful memories,” wrote Variety. “In other words, it’s like the experience of life itself.”
Queerty caught up with Morrison in between rehearsals and on the cusp of WeHo Pride to chat about the latest iteration of a musical that’s become a massive part of his professional and personal journey.
Our playwright and composer, Michael R. Jackson, spent 18 years working on A Strange Loop. Scroll back the clock, and you’ll find me …
Eighteen years ago, I was hobnobbing with the rich and famous and jet-setting around the world … and then I woke up. I had an office job. I was an event planner, So thank God for people like Michael R. Jackson. He kept asking me to come and sing his songs in concerts, and I was doing little shows at LaMaMa and Manhattan Theater Source, but I really didn’t have anything like a full and lucrative acting career at that time. I certainly wasn’t able to pay my bills by acting. I dreamed about it. I wanted it, but I had no idea how to make it happen, so I just kept doing what was put in front of me.
“Hey, LA, I’m comin’ your way!” My favorite new discovery while being in the City of Angels has been …
First of all, Los Angeles is freezing at night. No one told me that. I show up with my shorts ready to be like Baywatch, and instead, I am wrapped up in my sweater. That being said, I kinda like the farmers market attached to the Grove. So many things to discover and explore there and a nice place to just sit and read and write. Also, I went strolling through Larchmont Village (fancy) and played fantasy real estate shopping in Hanco*ck Park. Beautiful homes. I know there’s so much more to discover, and I can’t wait to see what LA has to offer.
I play Thought 4 in A Strange Loop, which includes several big personalities, including the lead character’s mother. The first person I thought of when I read the script was …
This is always such a strange thing to talk about because I’ve seen so many iterations of this project and the script. What happened in terms of creating a performance was very organic and happened over many conversations and many workshops and having moments of discovery and catharsis in tiny rehearsal rooms all over Manhattan over many years. Michael, in 2008, let me hear a voicemail from his mom. I remembered distinctly that it was a very teasing, funny message, but what I heard deeply and strongly was the love she had for her kid. So for me, I always wanted to honor her love. She may say funny things, but this woman is not a joke. That was something I was ultimately very clear on from day one in creating this performance. That has only gotten stronger over time, and having met and interacted with Michael’s mom and my relationship with my mom. This love is not a joke. It’s as serious as your salvation.
I’ll never forget the night A Strange Loop won the Tony Award for Best New Musical …
Something that people don’t know is when Michael won his Tony Award [Best Book of a Musical], the entire cast was on stage behind him, behind the giant video wall. We were getting ready and being set up by the stage managers at Radio City to perform on the Tonys. We couldn’t hear his speech, but we heard when his name was called, and we heard the applause, and so we were literally on stage with him. I remember us loving on him behind this wall and crying and screaming and being so happy and pulling it together because we had a performance to give in about five minutes. The Radio City stage managers going, “You have to quiet down.” We were so excited for him. Later, Chita Rivera called our show for Best Musical. I remember thinking as we bum-rushed the stage: “Don’t crush Chita. She’s a national treasure.”
Revive __________ so I can star in it …
The Baker in Into the Woods is happening in my future. I don’t know when or how but I shall be doing that part. “No More” is one of those stage moments I live for. I was literally offered Albin in La Cage Aux Folles and couldn’t do it. It wasn’t one that I thought was possible for me. I was like, “No one will ever cast me in this.” I started to look at that piece again and it’s such a great part, now I want it. I want to play that part so badly.
The show that changed my life the most …
Dreamgirls, baby. I saw the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls when I was very young, and from the minute it started to the minute it ended, I was enthralled. The energy that that show created in the audience made me go, “I want to do that.” So Dreamgirls is the show.
My biggest onstage mishap happened when …
I’m that actor that kinda likes it when something goes wrong. On Broadway with this show, I’ve cleaned up water spills, broken mugs, and busted light bulbs on stage while the show is going on. I love figuring out with the crew how do we get this wet spot off the stage? It makes the show so present in an amazing way. Not so fun, but we had to stop the show in San Fransisco because I had suffered a concussion at home, and it started to get worse as the show went along. I realized mid-show I wasn’t going to be able to finish the show. They got my understudy on stage, and the show restarted in six minutes. Stage managers are magic. That was a little scary, though not so much fun.
The gayest thing about me …
Well, I really like men. Like a lot. Does that count? I saw Tonya Pinkins do Caroline, or Change on Broadway six times. Awestruck every time. I saw Cynthia Erivo do The Color Purple four times and nearly wet myself when Heather Headley stepped in to play Shug Avery. Like almost was convulsing in gay joy when she stepped on stage. When I met Rita Moreno after the show on Boadway, I turned the corner, saw her, and literally burst into tears. So, I think I qualify for my gay card.
A Strange Loop plays at CTG’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from June 5-30.
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