‘A Strange Loop’ Cast Members Hope Their Tony Nominations Will Make Space for Everyone
variety.comGordon Cox Theater EditorMichael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical “A Strange Loop” scored 11 Tony nominations last week — and the ensemble cast of “A Strange Loop” is inviting everyone to share in the success.Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:“I used to look at the Tonys as something that was for ‘them,'” said James Jackson Jr., who plays Thought 2 in the show (and memorably embodies the protagonist’s self-loathing). “Like it was these people that I put somewhere, whether it’s a pedestal or wherever, but definitely a ‘them’ that had nothing to do with me at all.
That the ‘them’ is now including us feels really cool.”Looking ahead to the June 12 ceremony, he added, “I want to be amongst that energy and then I want to shine it back on anyone else who’s put us somewhere up like that.
I want to let people know the air is okay up here, and there’s space for y’all, so come, too.” Jackson appeared on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast, along with the five other performers who make up tight, dynamic ensemble that gives life to the Thoughts living in the head of Usher, the show’s central character.
Jackson joined castmates Antwayn Hopper, John-Michael Lyles, Jason Veasey and their Tony-nominated colleagues L Morgan Lee and John-Andrew Morrison to share their reactions to the nominations and discuss what the recognition means to them and to the broader theater industry.“This is a such a big deal for so many people,” said Lee, whose nod for featured actress in a musical makes her the first openly transgender performer ever to be nominated for a Tony.
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