My second and final holiday theatre adventure was to Woolly Mammoth's pre-Broadway production was to Michael R. Jackson's Meta-black-queer musical "A Strange Loop"--did I mention that it's already won a Pulitzer prize? Woolly Mammoth is an intimate theater with scarcely seating for 120. It has old fashioned theater style seats in the orchestra section with the exception of the last three rows, which are an after thought to the design of the place and fill in around the tech hub with seats that each have their own arm rests. That's where I purchased my seat, and to make things even better, the two seats to my right went unoccupied, and so I was able to create my own bubble of social distancing.
As to the plot, it'd s very curious musical about the author's very particular experiences as a fat gay black man who longs to write a musical about that it means to be a fat gay black man who love's tough white girl singers, is under-sexed, and has the burden of homophobic parents; an alcoholic father and a love-me-some-Jesus momma (love Jesus above everything else). Besides the character of "Usher" who is an usher working at The Lion King on Broadway (as was the author at the time he wrote the show), there are six "Thoughts". Each thought represents some facet of his inner world like "Self loathing". Thus set as an ongoing series of dialogues with his thoughts, he attempts to be real with his parents, but this leads to his capitulation with his momma in which he ghost writes a Gospel musical for Tyler Perry. Confused? don't worry, everything is constantly looping.
And here are a couple of points, it's a humorous show. I, and my fellow audience members, laughed A LOT. It's also an UN-apologetically GAY show. They warn you in the opening number that there will be buff-fucking, and this is butt-fucking. The lyrics throughout are clever in a good way and thought provoking, too. The entirety of the supporting cast are reprising there Obie Award winning roles from the Playwright's Horizons production in 2020. The lead actor in this production is a newly minted actor straight of drama school for whom there has been quite a bit of positive buzz. Unfortunately, he was available for this performance and instead it fell to his understudy, Christopher Michael Richards to carry to role.
I have known Christopher Michael's work in the DMV through previous performances in roles at Round House theatre, Constellation Theatre, Ford's theater and Signature Theater. Each time I thought, he's just getting better and better. So I figured it would be okay. Okay? His performance was fabulous! While the entire cast received a well deserved standing ovation, Mr. Richardson got two ovations of his own. The photos I'm sharing are press photos with the other actor in them. I don't have photoshop, so you'll just have to imagine them with Christopher Michael's face instead!
I would love to say theater in the DMV is back, but there no way to know that at this moment in time. My Holiday triple crown was cut to a double by Covid's latest iteration, and honestly, I over predicting things. I'll just be taking it one show at a time. My next foray isn't scheduled until the end of January--so we'll see where things are then, eh? Break a leg!
The "Thoughts" left to right: Antwayn Hopper, L. Morgan Lee, Jason Veasey, James Jackson Jr., John-Michael Lyles, and John-Andrew Morrison. The other usher in the middle.
In the back: Antwayn Hopper and John-Andrew Morrison; In the front: James Jackson Jr., L. Morgan Lee, the other actor, and Jason Veasey.
L. Morgan Lee, James Jackson Jr., Jason Veasey, the other actor, Antwayn Hopper, and John-Michael Lyles.
James Jackson Jr., John Micheal Lyles, and Antwayn Hopper.
One of the things that all of the "Thoughts" brought to the stage was a fearless commitment and joy. Each of them is the recipient of an Obie Award special citation for Creative Team and Ensemble. For L. Morgan Lee the award represents the first time an Obie Award went to a transgender actor. In 2020 Lucille Lortel Awards went to John-Andrew Morrison for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, and L. Morgan Lee for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
No comments:
Post a Comment