MICHAEL R. JACKSON’S PULITZER PRIZE AND TONY AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL “A STRANGE LOOP”

ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING FROM GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS AND YELLOW SOUND LABEL NOMINATED FOR 2023 GRAMMY AWARD FOR “BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM”

BOOK MUSIC & LYRICS BY MICHAEL R. JACKSON

CHOREOGRAPHED BY RAJA FEATHER KELLY

DIRECTED BY STEPHEN BRACKETT

NOW ON BROADWAY AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE

ALBUM AVAILABLE IN ALL FORMATS

“‘A Strange Loop’ is a shattering, electrifying debut musical. Jackson’s score is packed with maddening melodies and clever rhymes.” – Entertainment Weekly

“The new musical by Michael R. Jackson performs a phenomenal feat — it is both a raw and unflinching interrogation of identity and the most furiously entertaining show on Broadway.” – Variety

“Jackson’s score is marvelous. The composer-lyricist already has that Pulitzer, but now he deserves the Tony.” – The Washington Post

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, has been nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for “Best Musical Theater Album.” Principal vocalist Jaquel Spivey shares the nomination with album producers Michael Croiter, Michael R. Jackson, Charlie Rosen, and Rona Siddiqui, and composer and lyricist Michael R. Jackson. Released by GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and YELLOW SOUND LABEL, A Strange Loop is currently available in digital and streaming formats, as well as on CD. The Broadway premiere of the show – directed by Tony Award nominee Stephen Brackett, choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, and produced by Barbara Whitman along with Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Playwrights Horizons – is running at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street) through January 15, 2023. A Strange Loop was nominated for 11 Tony Awards®, making it the most-nominated show of the Broadway season, and won “Best Musical,” and “Best Book of a Musical.” To stream or download the album, or order the CD, please visit ghostlightrecords.lnk.to/AStrangeLoopPR

The album was produced by Michael Croiter and Michael R. Jackson, with Kurt Deutsch and Barbara Whitman as executive producers. It was co-produced by Charlie Rosen, who provides orchestrations; and Rona Siddiqui, who serves as music director and music supervisor.

The album features the original Broadway cast of A Strange Loop, including Tony Award nominee Jaquel Spivey (Usher), Antwayn Hopper (Thought 6), Tony Award nominee L Morgan Lee (Thought 1), John-Michael Lyles (Thought 3), James Jackson, Jr. (Thought 2), Tony Award nominee John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), and Jason Veasey (Thought 5). The current Broadway company ofA Strange Loop also features Edwin Bates,Kyle Ramar Freeman,Zachary A. Myers,Jon-Michael Reese,andMars Rucker. A Strange Loop features set design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costumes by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Drew Levy,casting by The Telsey Office/Destiny Lilly,with production stage manager Erin Gioia Albrecht. 

Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer…  Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. Hell-bent on breaking free of his own self-perception, Usher wrestles with the thoughts in his head, brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-shooting ensemble. Bold and heartfelt in its truth-telling, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all. 

Michael R. Jackson was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for A Strange Loop. 

When A Strange Loop opened on Broadway earlier this season, The New York Times called it “a dazzling ride. No measure of praise could be too much.” The Washington Post hailed it as “explosively imaginative. Dazzlingly one-of-a-kind. Broadway’s best new musical.” Variety lauded it as “The most furiously entertaining show on Broadway.” According to Time Out New York, “A Strange Loop is unmissable. A thrilling, wild ride. Screamingly funny. This is the musical we’ve been waiting for.”

A Strange Loop made its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, in May 2019, in association with Page 73 Productions, and was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for “Best Musical,” five Drama Desk Awards including “Best Musical,” six Outer Critics Circle Award including “Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical,” two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie awards, and an Off-Broadway Alliance Award. In December 2021, A Strange Loop played a critically-acclaimed run at Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company prior to coming to Broadway. 

Tickets for A Strange Loop range from $49 – $179 (inclusive of the $2 facility fee) and are available at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200). The performance schedule for A Strange Loop is as follows: Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM, and Sunday at 3:00 PM. 

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has become the leading independent force in Original Broadway Cast Recordings – building a library of over 200 records over the past 22 years, featuring some of the most successful Broadway musicals and solo albums by Broadway’s brightest stars. Founded by Grammy Award winner Kurt Deutsch, Ghostlight has won Grammy Awards for The Band’s Visit, The Book of Mormon, In the Heights and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. Ghostlight has also released solo albums from Patti LuPone, Kelli O’Hara, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, and more. The label continues to support the new generation of musical theater composers and has developed extensive relationships with Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, and David Yazbek, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pasek & Paul, Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Shaina Taub. Ghostlight Records is part of the Arts Music division at Warner Music Group. GhostlightRecords.com

YELLOW SOUND LABEL is an Emmy Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated, cutting-edge company that produces established performers, up-and-coming artists and original cast recordings. The boutique label takes a hands-on approach in nurturing and producing passionate, focused performers and composers who create quality, noteworthy recordings. YellowSoundLabel.com