The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the Tony-nominated musical talks with Thrillist about his influences.
The 2020 Pulitzer Prize - winningBroadwaymusicalA Strange Loop — nownominated for 11 Tonys , including good melodic — makes many of its influence clean over the course of its exhilarating 90 minutes on stage . Written by Michael R. Jackson , which he started as a soliloquy shortly after finishing his undergraduate level at NYU ’s Tisch School of the Arts , it ’s the story of a Broadway usher , not unlike Jackson once was , named Usher who is in the summons of writing his own musical called , of course , A Strange Loop , which target to be a " Big Black Queer Ass American Broadway Show . "
A Strange Loopis a meta miracle . Usher is bombard by a Greek chorus of his Thoughts , who bug him about the writing physical process , as well as his eubstance and intimate experiences . Over the course of the production , the actor play the Thoughts transform into Usher ’s parents and figures , ranging from James Baldwin to Whitney Houston . But if there ’s one person referenced more than any other , it ’s Liz Phair , patron saint of ' 90 rock lady friend , who is Usher ’s " privileged clean girl . " Thrillist hopped on Zoom with Jackson to hash out Phair and the other influence that droveA Strange Loop , let in Tyler Perry andJem and the Holograms .
Liz Phair
Rocker Liz Phair is primal toA Strange Loop . When asked , in the show , where the title come up from , Usher explains that it comes from a hypothesis by Douglas Hofstader and it ’s the name of a Liz Phair song he have intercourse . Initially , Jackson wanted to practice her music in the piece , and subsequently write Song where his music matches up against hers .
When I get exercise on the piece , it was just a monologue that I wrote powerful after I graduate from undergrad , and I think that was the metre when I really had pick up Liz Phair through her ego - entitle album . I walk into Tower Records , may he rest in peace , and that record album had just get out , and I bought it . I was like , " Oh , this does n’t sound like what I ’ve always heard about this person . " But I liked it enough that I hear to it , even though it got pan by everybody .
I say , " Well , let me go look at the other albums . " Then I went and boughtExile in Guyville , and I was like , " This record album is incredible . I ca n’t think that the same person has both of these thing that I like in very different fashion . " I became very possessed with her . I boughtWhip - Smart , Whitechocolatespaceegg , I went on eBay and foundGirly - Sound , and I just was so into her songwriting style , and the humor . She really has a manner with Scripture . There ’s a poesy to it that ’s just so striking and beautiful , in add-on to just doing what I call character work . The character of herself or whomever in her song were just so interesting and intricate .
Design by Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist
I would just take the air around New York because I was miserable , and her songs were a skilful admirer to have for misery . When I set out write the soliloquy , part of it was kind of seek to emulate her , that stream - of - cognisance style and speaking baldly with no filter . In the original monologue , there ’s a line decently at the end of it where [ the character I forebode Darryl ] was talking to himself and he say , " Come on , Darryl . Just recollect about someday all the time . Think about Liz Phair and what her journey was like out of the secret indie rock scene in Chicago into so much fame and other bullshit that she eventually had to quote - unquote deal out . " That monologue was very inspired by her and my estimate of her at the prison term , and her music and everything .
But then there ’s also Tori Amos , who ’s like my origin , privileged clean girl . With somebody who , likewise but even in a sort of rawer way of life , just would lie everything bare . She hates the Holy Writ confessional , but yeah . reach that she has comes from a religious background , in some ways that feel appropriate . Just going to the altar and permit it all out .
In Trousersby William Finn
William Finn may be a inscrutable cut for those who are n’t musical field of operations aficionado , but it makes sense that Jackson would gravitate toward his idiosyncratic work . In Trousersis the first in a trilogy of musical that would later give the Broadway productionFalsettos .
In Trousersby Bill Finn , who was also my teacher at NYU . I make love that show — well , I never saw the show , but the original cast album , I just bonk it . Bill was so true and suspicious and off - kelter about how he would tattle about his thinly veiled personal experience through [ the booster ] Marvin . I really interrelate to that . I guess he view a kind of kindred spirit in me as a student , and he really encouraged me to let my freak flag rainfly and to just go out on a limb and do what I was doing in term of writing from personal experience .
CompanyandA Chorus Line
A Strange Loopfeels like nothing ever seen on Broadway before , and it owes to other show that were similarly groundbreaking when they premiered .
After doing the one - military man show version at Ars Nova , I came away from that very firmly like , " I do n’t require to be in this musical . This is not a club act . I require it to be a proper musical , albeit a probably unconventional one . " That was probably cash in one’s chips to be in the nervure of what used to be call a concept melodic likeCompanyorA Chorus Lineor something like that . I figure [ the characters ] kind of existed in that sort of format — these beings were just good and crazy people , married protagonist or masses try out , you know ? They were just an all - purpose ensemble that really helped the primary reference empathize his journeying .
Then once we get close to Playwright ’s Horizons , something that I do as part of my process with everything is that I learn my book over and over and over and over again to see if something jumps out at me . I ’m hear to get my subconscious to see something that I missed or that I had n’t been imagine about . And in doing that , I on the spur of the moment was like , " The opening routine ’s not correct . " It was fine as what it had been , but I was like , " It ’s not doing what it really , really involve to do . " I did a 99 % lyrical revision of it . It also became important because that was part of like , what is this issue ? And what is Usher trying to create in his mind , and what is that ? The affair he ’s trying to produce in his mind is also a thing that has to do with his spirit , and the lines between art and real life are very blurry . That was all born in that rescript .
Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor
Tyler Perry ’s name is uttered a lot throughoutA Strange Loop . Usher ’s agent calls him suggesting he drop a line a gospel play for the multi - hyphenate entrepreneur , much to the delectation of Usher ’s mother . One song in the show is even titled " Tyler Perry write Real Life . " Jackson would see all of Perry ’s film , but it wasTemptation : Confessions of a Marriage Counselorthat really provoked some of the elements ofA Strange Loop .
In my own lifespan , my agent at the clip had approached me about submitting to compose for one of [ Tyler Perry ’s ] TV shows . And I was like , absolutely not . It had nothing to do with me being snooty and above it all , but I literally , just on a straight - up writing level , I did not understand how one writes in his voice or in the world of what he did . I just did not get it . I mean , there were things about it that reminded me of spring up up in Black churches and stuff , and seeing Black account programs and Easter programs and Christmas programs and stuff . But I still did n’t know how to compose like that , in my nous . So I twist that down .
Then this became this storyline inA Strange Loopabout Usher ’s agent indicate that he ghostwrites a Tyler Perry - style Gospels fun and he pooh - poohs it , but his female parent and father really wanted him to do that . That existed on a very satiric level for a while . Then in 2013 , I depart and sawConfessions of a Marriage Counselor , the film with Jurnee Smollett , Kim Kardashian , Vanessa Williams , Brandy , and others . fundamentally , these two women , Brandy and Jurnee Smollett , get HIV from this billionaire devil man . I was so upset about the room that he wrote that because it was very clearly God ’s punishment for them not obeying whatever . In the theater , this fair sex in front of me give way , " Yep , that ’s what she gets . " The whole thing just really have intercourse me up . I was so unhinged about it because it remind me of things that I ’d heard grow up and in churches , and from hearing other gay man ’s stories . intend about Black folk in ecumenical , and how HIV / AIDS has had such a annihilative impact on us , and check this movie where there ’s this really irresponsible , poorly written message about HIV / AIDS — I was just like , " I have to turn to this in some elbow room . "
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Right after that , I found out that a very skinny friend of mine , who I ’d hold out to grad school with , was HIV positive and that it had progressed to AIDS because he had spent like 10 year not see to his health . He also had a lot of that ideology at heart of him from his childhood . It was a complex mixture of thing .
All of that was stewing inside of this matter . I also love at a certain point in the story that , once I planted the seed that people were take Usher to write this gospel truth play , that he was going to have to cede on it . But I think I recollect it was just going to be just a satiric thing , but then all of a sudden it remove home even deeply with my friend because he passed aside and he was supposed to work on the show as an orchestrator . The loop got loopier , and I had to address that . And that all fall from this initial rum little Tyler Perry thing .
The Lion KingandJem and the Holograms
Usher is working as an usher for a Disney musical that is very clearlyThe Lion King , likeJackson once did , whenA Strange Loopbegins . Jackson refers to that melodious in other way throughout the show , include name Usher ’s family members afterLion Kingcharacters , a way to keep a distance from his real life .
I ushered atLion Kingfor many year . I was always standing in the back of the theater , look on the patrons learn the show . I think if you would ’ve ask me five years ago , do I likeThe Lion King ? I ’d have say , " No , I hate it . " But I do n’t reckon I hated it , I just hated work there . I did n’t want to be an usher . I wanted to be a writer .
That being said , there are things about the show that bug me , but there are also things that I think are good . Then , there ’s me look out the audience respond to the entertainment note value of it , and I think I have draw over clip the idea that the amusement economic value of shows is actually quite significant . When it come up time to write the opening number , I was like , " Even though I ’m doing something totally different , the assigning is still to entertain the audience and test to daze them . "
Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
When I was writing the characters of Usher ’s parents , it made sentience to me , given how they talk about his sexuality and his career and all this stuff , they would essentially be cartoon characters . Even if the sketch character sometimes seemed real because I think that even cartoons have wholeness , you roll in the hay ? Even in the final family scene , it ’s a very serious scene , but it ’s like a very special episode of a sketch .
There was this one sequence ofJem and the HologramsI remember because I observe it not that long ago — I saw it as a kid , but then I buy the box set during the pandemic — where a random Starlight girl that ’s not a even gets hook to drugs , to tab or something . And Jerrica sends her to a rehab . It was so screaming because the the great unwashed who would do the spokesperson for the kids were grownup , but they would put on these kid representative . There ’s this one vista where they ’re all going around the circle saying , " My name ’s so and so , and I ’m an alcoholic . " And one of them goes,“I do n’t really have a problem . I ’m just here . " And another one goes , " Why do n’t you cut the crap ? You ’re addicted to drug . " It ’s so peculiar because it ’s clearly an grownup voicing the character .
Lionsgate Films
Photo by Jenny Anderson/Getty Images
