Strange Loop

Our daughter, Rebekah, is current.y living in London, and is a great fan of musical theatre. As she is poor, I offered to take her to any musical she might want to see. So we went to see A Strange Loop. 

A Strange Loop is the story of Usher. He’s a black gay man… writing a musical about a black gay man… writing a musical about a black gay man… surrounded by his chorus of six larger than life ‘Thoughts’ playing the characters in Usher’s mind, from self-berating entities like ‘Daily Self Loathing’ to caricatured depictions of Usher’s parents, to six-packed fantasy men, all while Usher tries to write the musical that we’re watching." (https://strangeloopmusical.com/about/)

What a musical. And what an experience as a straight white guy in a theatre where I may have been the minority, with so many gay men around me identifying with the experience of Usher. And yet I am sure also challenged by Usher. Usher offers the same critique of white gay men that womanist writers offer of feminism. So here is a fat black gay man seeking his place in the story.

One of the hardest moments was the long section with his inner thoughts repeating his parents reaction to his coming out. His Christian parents, who said they loved him but not his gayness. And then they sang the chant that Aids was God's punishment for being gay. And so many sang or clapped along. It was tough to sit there when you do not believe for a moment in this god that is being mocked on stage. It was fair. It was justified, but I felt like the outsider, which I guess is the point. I had another brief conversation today with someone that reinforced how sad this all makes me. The church largely has nothing to say to the LGBTQI+ community that is of any value. We are dismissed with a sing along.

It was a powerful experience. I was allowed into a world I do not have access to normally. It pushed me alot. It is not G rated in any way. It challenged me and saddened me as well. I sat into another's shoes for awhile, and that was good for me. When I am not at the keyboard I think of more I could say. I will reflect on this for some time. Thank you Rebekah for taking me and plunging me into this story. If you get a chance, go see it.