Casting for ”A Strange Loop”’s UK premiere announced

A Strange Loop, the critically acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, is set to make its West End debut this summer at the Barbican Theatre, and the show’s cast has just been announced.

Making his London debut, Kyle Ramar Freeman will star as Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer. Freeman previously played the lead role on Broadway and will be joined by an all-British cast of six “Thoughts”, who are the physical manifestation of Usher’s internal monologue.

The cast includes multi-Olivier nominated Jason Pennycooke (Lafayette/Jefferson – original cast of Hamilton), Sharlene Hector, best known for being a lead vocalist for British band Basement Jaxx, Danny Bailey (Jesus Christ Superstar, Girl From the North Country), Eddie Elliott (Blues for an Alabama Sky, The Lion King and Motown The Musical) and Tendai Humphrey Sitima (The Play That Goes Wrong). Further casting will be announced soon.

A Strange Loop creator Michael R Jackson said, “I couldn’t be more excited to test the universality of Usher’s journey of self-acceptance with this extraordinary London company portraying Usher’s Thoughts. I am even more excited to bring Broadway powerhouse Kyle Ramar Freeman to London to anchor this production of A Strange Loop. Kyle is an immense talent, and I have no doubt that London audiences will fall as in love with him as they did in New York City.”

Originating Broadway producer Barbara Whitman added, “I’m thrilled that Kyle will be playing Usher in this production. He is a true star. And I can’t wait to welcome the six new actors to our Strange Loop family.”

The show is only the tenth musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with the previous winner being Hamilton. The Pulitzer committee cited the show as a “metafictional musical that tracks the creative process of an artist transforming issues of identity, race, and sexuality that once pushed him to the margins of the cultural mainstream into a meditation on universal human fears and insecurities.”

The production, which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won every Best Musical award in New York, is set to run for a one-time-only 12-week limited season from 17 June. Tickets are on sale below.