How 'A Strange Loop' fits into Black theater legacies

When Code Switch has covered the theater industry, it's often to call out some of the uncomfortable racial dynamics in the room—whether that's the unease of watching Hamilton with a primarily white audience, controversies surrounding Asian representation in Miss Saigon, or the complexities of teaching The Merchant of Venice in schools. But we usually don't sing the praises of theater, or talk about how the artform can make us think about race in exciting and unique ways.

So allow me to mix things up a little when I say this: I absolutely adore A Strange Loop, a musical by Michael R. Jackson which opened on Broadway at the end of April. The show has already made a big splash, both inside the theater world and out. It broke ground as the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama before going to Broadway. And it's now up for 11 awards at the 75th annual Tony Awards this Sunday.

But is also breaking ground by restaging