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’A Strange Loop’ Review: One Man’s Mind Games Get Funny, Then Wrenching, in Superlative L.A. Take on the Bold Broadway Hit
In a Broadway adaptation at the Ahmanson, ‘A Strange Loop’ is a riveting trip into the insecurity and catharsis of a man with many voices in his head.
What matters is that it further paints Usher as a man without a tribe — not in the world of casual, rough sex; not as someone whose light skin tone makes him feel less than completely accepted among Black acquaintances; and most certainly not among the church folk from back home who loom large in his imaginatin, even if they’re far from New York City. Maybe only Phair’s copyright executor knows for sure, but it’s a good excuse to bust out an “Exile in Gayville” joke — and to add to the score a fairly rocking number that makes it clear he isn’t just giving his love for that music lip service. The music in this climactic sequence would be enough to focus on, but the performances, by Morrison as the concerned mama and McCaskill as her suddenly enraged son, make for a brilliantly played dance of sympathy, misunderstanding and rage.
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