John-Andrew Morrison, Malachi McCaskill & More to Star in A STRANGE LOOP West Coast Premiere

The cast and creative team has been set for the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning acclaimed musical, A Strange Loop, making its West Coast premiere at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater from Thursday, April 18 through Sunday, May 12, 2024 and then moving to Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre from Wednesday, June 5 through Sunday, June 30, 2024.

Meet Usher: a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, 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. Direct from Broadway and the West End to San Francisco and Los Angeles, A Strange Loop is the big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all!

“I began writing what would become A Strange Loop in a small room of a bungalow-style apartment in the middle of nowhere Queens when I was 23-years-old,” said Michael R. Jackson. “I had never been so scared or uncertain of my place in the world. Working on the show was my life raft and I never in a million years imagined the miles it would travel. I am so excited to share A Strange Loop with even more audiences and so grateful to A.C.T. and CTG for making this West Coast premiere possible. What a strange loop!”

“It only seems fitting that such a big, bold, and irreverent play would call both CTG and A.C.T. home—two iconic theatre companies in cities known for pushing boundaries and telling wholly original stories,” said CTG Artistic Director Snehal Desai. “A Strange Loop is one of the most discussed and awarded musicals of our time. It is also audacious, hilarious, empowering, and very moving. The company for this co-production joins us from a national search and I can’t wait for SF audiences to experience A Strange Loop starting in April and to keep the conversation going when it plays the Ahmanson Theatre in June.”

“I love that A.C.T. is in partnership with Los Angeles’s Center Theatre Group in bringing this gorgeous, provocative, and full story by Michael R. Jackson to the West Coast,” said A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon. “I’m on the edge of my seat in anticipation to see and hear A Strange Loop at the Toni Rembe Theater.”

The cast of A Strange Loop includes (in alphabetical order): Dave J. Abrams (Understudy, Thought 2 & 3), Angela Alise (Understudy, Thought 1), Jordan Barbour (Thought 5), J. Cameron Barnett (Thought 2), Carlis Shane Clark (Understudy, Thought 5 & 6), Alvis Green Jr. (Usher Alternate), Albert Hodge (Understudy, Thought 4), Avionce Hoyles (Thought 3), Tarra Conner Jones (Thought 1), Malachi McCaskill (Usher), Jamari Johnson Williams (Thought 6), and Tony Award nominee John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4).

About A Strange Loop

A Strange Loop features book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson. Members of the show’s Broadway creative team will join the West Coast engagements. They include Tony Award nominee Stephen Brackett (Director), Raja Feather Kelly (Choreography), Tony award nominee Arnulfo Maldonado (Scenic Design), Montana Levi Blanco (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Drew Levy (Sound Design), Tony Award nominee Jen Schreiver (Lighting Design), Aaron Tacy (Associate Lighting Design), Candace Taylor (Associate Choreography), Cookie Jordan (Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design), Chelsea Pace (Intimacy), and The Telsey Office / Destiny Lilly, CSA (Casting).

Rounding out the creative team are Nailah Harper-Malveaux (Associate Director), Sean Kana (Music Director), David Möschler (Associate Music Director), Randy Cohen (Keyboard Programmer), Edmond O'Neal (Production Stage Manager), Julia Formanek (Assistant Stage Manager), and Camella Coopilton (Assistant Stage Manager).

A Strange Loop made its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in May 2019. In December 2021, the show had a critically acclaimed run at Washington D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company prior to coming to Broadway in spring 2022. A Strange Loop won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was the recipient of 11 Tony Award nominations, the most of any show in 2022. The production took home the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. A Strange Loop was also named Best Musical by New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Off-Broadway Alliance. A Strange Loop recently played a limited 12-week engagement at London’s Barbican Theatre.

How to Purchase Tickets

Single tickets ($25 - $137) for the San Francisco engagement are on sale now by visiting act-sf.org/strangeloop. Single tickets ($35–$155) for the Los Angeles engagement are on sale now by visiting ctgla.org/a-strange-loop.