A Strange Loop

About the show

While working as a Broadway theatre usher at The Lion King, aspiring musical theater writer Usher contemplates the show he is writing, wanting it to represent what it is like to "travel the world in a fat, black, queer body" ("Intermission Song"). He plans to change himself, but his thoughts are too disruptive ("Today"). His mother, who constantly reminds him how hard she and his father worked to raise him, calls with a request that he write a Tyler Perry-style gospel play ("We Wanna Know"). Usher wishes he could act more like his "inner white girl" but is held back by expectations put on Black boys ("Inner White Girl"). His Thoughts criticize the show, claiming the main character should have more sex appeal and telling him to add certain elements. Usher's father leaves a voicemail saying he found Scott Rudin's number and urges him to leverage their common sexuality to make a connection ("Didn't Want Nothin'"). At a medical checkup, Usher's doctor inquires about his sex life and prescribes Truvada. Usher starts using dating apps but is rejected, causing him to rage against the gay community ("Exile In Gayville"). A stranger flirts with Usher before revealing he is a figment of Usher's imagination and dismissing the war between the "second-wave feminist" and "the dick-sucking Black gay man" within him ("Second Wave"). Usher's agent tells him Tyler Perry is seeking a ghostwriter for a gospel play, but Usher has a low opinion of Perry's work. Appearing as famous Black figures, his Thoughts accuse him of being a race traitor and persuade him to take the job ("Tyler Perry Writes Real Life"). Usher writes the play, acting out all the characters as caricatures ("Writing a Gospel Play"). At work, Usher tells a patron he cannot continue the show without confronting his parents with his artistic self. The patron advises him to live without fear ("A Sympathetic Ear"). Usher speaks with his parents over the phone, his father asking if he has contracted HIV and his mother asking about the status of the gospel play. After hooking up with "Inwood Daddy", a white man who fetishizes him and calls him racial slurs, Usher questions his "Boundaries". On his birthday, Usher's mother leaves a voicemail reminding him that homosexuality is a sin ("Periodically") while his father calls to inform him their church does not approve of his music ("Didn't Want Nothin' [Reprise]"). During Usher's arguing with his parents, his mother, horrified by her portrayal in the play, accuses him of hating and disappointing her. Usher recalls how his friend Darnell, thinking he deserved to die, refused HIV medication and concludes living with AIDS is worse than dying from it ("Precious Little Dream/AIDS Is God's Punishment"). His mother tells Usher he is loved but thinks he is struggling because of his homosexuality. The Thought who is portraying Usher's mother breaks the fourth wall, asking Usher if he wants the show to end with hateful caricatures of his parents. Usher claims that he is depicting life as it was when he was 17, to which the Thoughts remind him he is now 26. Usher then reflects on his childhood, realizing his perceptions must change before he can change ("Memory Song"). With his back to the audience, Usher wonders what will happen when the show ends. He turns around, concluding that he does not need to change because change is an illusion, and he, like everyone else, is in "A Strange Loop".