Casting has been announced for the anticipated London season of the smash hit, Tony Award-winning musical, A STRANGE LOOP, which opens at the Barbican Theatre for a one-time-only 12 week limited season from 17 June 2023.
Making his West End debut, Kyle Ramar Freeman – reprising the lead role he played on Broadway – will star as Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who hates his day job, so writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer.
He will be joined on stage by an all-British cast of six Thoughts, who are the physical manifestation of Usher’s internal monologue. Playing the Thoughts are 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.
Nominated for 11 Tony Awards and winner of every Best Musical award in New York, Michael R. Jackson’s critically acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning, blisteringly funny masterwork exposes the heart and soul of Usher. Usher grapples with desires, identity and instincts he both loves and loathes, all brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-talking ensemble.
A STRANGE LOOP is presented by Trafalgar Theatre Productions, the National Theatre, Barbara Whitman and Wessex Grove, Alan Cumming, Ilana Glazer, Jennifer Hudson, Mindy Kaling and Billy Porter, in association with the Barbican.
