Michael R. Jackson: The Strange Loops that Led the Playwright to Broadway
"I made it a point to invite a conservative reviewer from The National Review...it was a Black gay conservative critic. And the headline said that I was doing critical race theater."
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Hello friends, family, and subscribers :) welcome to another GAYLETTER,
In this edition we meet playwright Michael R. Jackson.
We shot Michael in front of the theater where his brilliant musical, A Strange Loop, is running. Its entrance is about 30 feet from the frenzy of Times Square.
As we moved between shots Michael and I reconnected. Fun fact, many moons ago Michael and I used to work at the same company. He was in finance, and I was an insecure and anxious copywriter.
I would often shuffle over to his part of the office and we would gossip and complain about corporate life. He was hilarious and unfiltered and one of my favorite people at that unusual place (it was filled with gay Mormons — but that’s a story for another day).
When Michael won a Pulitzer Prize, and then two Tony awards for his musical, my heart was filled with joy and admiration, because I know the work it took him to get to where he is, plus his musical is fantastic. From the finance department to the toast of the Tonys, you did that girl!
Please enjoy our conversation with Michael R. Jackson below.
-Tom (and Abi)
PORTRAITS BY IAN LEWANDOWSKI
INTERVIEW BY BEN BROOKS
Michael R. Jackson used to work as a Broadway usher mere blocks away from where his new musical, A Strange Loop, is running at the Lyceum Theater. His show, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, was in development for 18 years, and what began as a one-person monologue gradually evolved into a full musical production.
After garnering rave reviews during its Off-Broadway run at Playwrights Horizons in 2019, winning a Pulitzer for drama in 2020, and attracting a star-studded roster of producers, like Jennifer Hudson, Alan Cumming, and RuPaul (to name a few),
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