As we begin a new decade, I look back at my past decade of theatre-going and pick my top 10 favorite plays and musicals.
All tagged A Strange Loop
FEATURE: Top 10 of 2019
By my count, I’ve attended 234 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2019. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten (ok, eleven) favorite shows I saw in 2019.
PODCAST: "The Fabulous Invalid" Episode 54: Michael R. Jackson: A Strange Loop
On this week’s show, Rob and Jamie are back at Orso Restaurant. They sit down with composer, lyricist, and playwright Michael R. Jackson, creator of "A Strange Loop”, a fantastic new musical that played Off-Broadway last summer. “A Strange Loop” is a “self-referential” musical by and about “a black, queer man writing a musical about a black, queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man”. Together, they talk about the fascinating development and construction of the show.
FEATURE: 2019 Fall Season Preview
The city that never sleeps also boasts a theatre scene that never sleeps. With the summer now behind us, this is an overview of all that’s coming to New York stages this fall (spoiler alert: it’s a lot).
"Flying Over Sunset", "The Lightning Thief: the Percy Jackson Musical", "How I Learned to Drive", "A Soldier's Play", "Caroline, or Change", "Slava's Snowshow", "A Christmas Carol", and "Diana" announce Broadway runs; "Harmony" and "Forbidden Broadway" announce Off-Broadway runs; Gideon Glick to step into “Little Shop of Horrors” for Jonathan Groff; film of "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" will be released in October 2020; "What the Constitution Means to Me" filmed for future release ; RIP Bob Ullman
REVIEWS: Charting new musical frontiers with “A Strange Loop” and “Octet”
Two new Off-Broadway musicals that are marquee productions of the summer experiment with form and content in exciting ways that portend well for the future of the art form. Unique for musicals, both are also the product of a single author. Here I take a look at Michael R. Jackson’s “A Strange Loop” at Playwrights Horizons andDave Malloy’s “Octet” at Signature Theatre.