We caught the Thoughts of Broadway's A Strange Loop just as they were readying to take their first Broadway bow (the musical starts at the Lyceum Theatre April 12) to get their... well, thoughts on a wide range of topics, from bootlegs in the theatre to Wordle and calls from Mom. Watch their take on these and more in the video above, produced and directed by Roberto Araujo.
Starring as the Thoughts are Antwayn Hopper, James Jackson, Jr., L Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, John-Andrew Morrison, and Jason Veasey, all of whom are reprising their performances on Broadway from the Pulitzer-winning musical's 2019 Off-Broadway world premiere production at Playwrights Horizons and its pre-Broadway engagement at Washington, D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company last year. Jackson, Lee, Lyles, and Morrison all make their Broadway debuts with the production.
Jaquel Spivey leads the cast as Usher, a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thoughts while trying to write a musical about a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thought while trying to write a musical about... and on and on. The work features a book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson.
Stephen Brackett (Be More Chill) directs the production, with choreography by Raja Feather Kelly (Suffs), scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costumes by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Jen Schreiver, sound design by Drew Levy, hair, wig, and makeup design by Cookie Jordan, music supervision by Rona Siddiqui, orchestrations by Charlie Rosen, vocal arrangements by Jackson, and casting by The Telsey Office's Destiny Lilly. Tomoko Akaboshi is music coordinator, and Chelsea Pace is intimacy director.
Check out photos from the musical's D.C. run:
