John-Andrew Morrison, L Morgan Lee, John-Michael Lyles, Jason Veasey, Larry Owens (plaid shirt), Antwayn Hopper and James Jackson, Jr in A Strange Loop. Picture: Joan Marcus
A Strange Loop capped its winning streak in the 2019/2020 New York theatre season, as it grabbed the Outstanding Musical Award from the Drama Desk.
The 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards were announced on 13 June 2020 in a special pre-recorded presentation on a local television news channel. The awards are usually handed out with a gala show and after-party, cancelled this year because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Drama Desk is an association of New York-based theatre journalists; its awards competition considers all New York theatre – Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway – as one entity. With the Tony Awards for Broadway still in abeyance because the season was cut significantly short by the health crisis, the Drama Desk Awards would seem to take on even more than their usual significance for New York theatre-makers.
And for A Strange Loop, whose world premiere was produced by the Off-Broadway Playwrights Horizons, it has been indeed a celebratory season. It has already won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, and was among the five Off-Broadway musical honorees named by the New York Outer Critics Circle.
A Strange Loop has book, lyrics and music all by Michael R. Jackson (not the late legendary Michael Jackson, in case you were at all wondering). It depicts the agonisingly personal journey of a young, black, gay and uncomely male and aspiring musical theatre writer, tormented by inner doubts, to a sense of self-appreciation.
At the same time, the show is amazingly buoyed by its musical theatre verve and exhilaration, and its humanistic appreciation of life.
In addition to Drama Desk’s Outstanding Musical Award, Jackson’s trophy shelf will also have to make room for the statuettes won by his book and lyrics.
Other winners for the show include Larry Owens, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and Stephen Brackett, Outstanding Director of a Musical.
In the Drama Desk’s Outstanding Musical contest, A Strange Loop competed against four other Off-Broadway nominees: Octet; The Secret Life of Bees, Soft Power and The Wrong Man.
However, Broadway efforts did score a passel of trophies in musical categories. Adrienne Warren, of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, took home the Actress award, and Lauren Patten, of Jagged Little Pill, the Featured Actress. Tina (in a contest considering plays and musicals together) also won for its wig and hair design by Campbell Young Associates, and Jagged Little Pill won for Tom Kitt’s orchestrations.
Moulin Rouge! was laden with prizes for Sonya Tayeh’s choreography, Derek McLane’s scenic design, Catherine Zuber’s costumes, Justin Townsend’s lighting and Peter Hylenski’s sound design. The West Side Story revival won for Luke Halls’ projection design.
Among other musical winners: Dave Malloy’s music for Octet; Little Shop of Horrors, revival, and Little Shop’s Christian Borle, featured actor.
Ron Cohen
Readers may also be in interested in:
A Strange Loop at Playwrights Horizons, New York – Review
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