Larry Owens and the Cast of A Strange Loop

A Strange Loop wins 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop made its world premiere Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2019.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

The New York Theatre Guide congratulates Michael R. Jackson, who has been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his celebrated musical A Strange Loop and will receive a $15,000 reward.

Produced by Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73, A Strange Loop staged its world premiere off-Broadway from May through July 2019, opening to excellent reviews.

Synopsis: "Usher is a black, gay writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, gay writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical. Michael R. Jackson's blistering, momentous new musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons - not least of which, the punishing thoughts in his own head - in an attempt to break out of this strange loop."

The meta-musical was directed by Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, and starred Larry Owens (as Usher) alongside L Morgan Lee (as Thought #1), James Jackson, Jr. (as Thought #2), John-Michael Lyles (as Thought #3), John-Andrew Morrison (as Thought #4), Jason Veasey (as Thought #5), and Antwayn Hopper (as Thought #6).

A Strange Loop also earned a total of seven Lucille Lortel Award nominations; more than any other Off-Broadway production in the 2019-2020 season. Larry Owens and John-Andrew Morrison managed to take home the awards for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical' and 'Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical,' respectively, as previously reported.

Michael R. Jackson has now joined a small, elite club of Pulitzer winners who have won the prize for a musical. Past winners include Hamilton, Rent, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park with George, Fiorello, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Of Thee I Sing, South Pacific and A Chorus Line.

(Photo by Joan Marcus)

 

Originally published on

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