GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and YELLOW SOUND LABEL have announced plans to release the original Broadway Cast Recording of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning musical.
The Broadway premiere of the show – directed by Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, and produced by Barbara Whitman along with Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Playwrights Horizons – will begin previews at Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street) on Wednesday, April 6, and opening night is set for Tuesday, April 26.
The album will be produced by Michael Croiter and Michael R. Jackson, with Kurt Deutsch and Barbara Whitman as executive producers. It will be co-produced by Charlie Rosen, who provides orchestrations; and Rona Siddiqui, who serves as music director and music supervisor. The recording will take place on Sunday, April 10 for a release date to be announced later this season. Pre-save on Spotify now at ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/AStrangeLoopPR
The Broadway cast of A Strange Loop features Jaquel Spivey, in his Broadway debut, as Usher. He joins original cast members Antwayn Hopper (Thought 6), L Morgan Lee (Thought 1), John-Michael Lyles (Thought 3), James Jackson, Jr. (Thought 2), John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), and Jason Veasey (Thought 5). A Strange Loop features set design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costumes by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Drew Levy, casting by The Telsey Office/Destiny Lilly, with production stage manager Erin Gioia Albrecht.
Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer… Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork 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. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all.
Michael R. Jackson was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for A Strange Loop.
A Strange Loop made its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, in May 2019, in association with Page 73 Productions, and was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for “Best Musical,” five Drama Desk Awards including “Best Musical,” six Outer Critics Circle Award including “Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical,” two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie awards, and an Off-Broadway Alliance Award. In December 2021, A Strange Loop played a critically-acclaimed run at Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company prior to coming to Broadway.
Reviewing the recent run of A Strange Loop at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Peter Marks of The Washington Post describes Jackson’s musical as “marvelously inventive, exhilarating, and beautifully staged by director Stephen Brackett and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly.” He writes, “There is so much to raise the spirits here. Jaquel Spivey makes an electric debut; it’s a guarantee you’ll never forget him. The score, played by a five-member band conducted by music director Rona Siddiqui, boils and bubbles in an ecstatic cascade of musicality. The ensemble members all deserve shout-outs.”
Tickets for A Strange Loop range from $49 – $179 (inclusive of the $2 facility fee) and are available at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200). The performance schedule for A Strange Loop is as follows: Monday through Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Saturday at 2pm. Please note there will be an added matinee Wednesday, April 20 at 2pm, and no performance Wednesday, April 27. Beginning Thursday, April 28 the playing schedule is as follows: Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Please note performances on Sunday, May 1 will be at 2pm and 7pm.
GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 22 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway’s brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band’s Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group. GhostlightRecords.com
YELLOW SOUND LABEL is an Emmy Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated, cutting-edge company that produces established performers, up-and-coming artists and original cast recordings. The boutique label takes a hands-on approach in nurturing and producing passionate, focused performers and composers who create quality, noteworthy recordings. YellowSoundLabel.com
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