CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

CNN reports:

“Big, Black and queer-ass American Broadway” — welcome to the world of “A Strange Loop,” the most acclaimed — and frequently surprising — musical of the theatrical season. “A Strange Loop” is a musical about a theater usher (named Usher) writing a musical about a theater usher, and it was conceived of and written by a former theater usher.

Michael R. Jackson’s script and score borrow and fictionalize moments from his own life to create a composite of our 20-something-year-old protagonist and the chorus of personified Thoughts who play his “daily self-loathing,” his parents and, at one point, Harriet Tubman.

Though it leads the Tony Awards with 11 nominations, “A Strange Loop” isn’t an obvious smash: It’s one of the few wholly original productions of the Broadway season — there’s no familiar intellectual property that easily draws in visiting audiences.

Read the full article.

How a small musical about a Black queer theater usher became the toast of Broadway https://t.co/kO0DWa52LO

— Newslanes (@newslanes) June 12, 2022

Ahead of tonight’s #TonyAwards airing live on CBS, check out the full list of nominations.

Michael R. Jackson’s critically acclaimed musical about a Black queer writer’s odyssey leads the 2022 Tony nominations pack. https://t.co/t9nevEdZb6

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 12, 2022

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/h5kL27PcQP

— Michael R. Jackson (@TheLivingMJ) June 12, 2022

The 75th Tony Awards are tonight — and Jennifer Hudson is on the verge of reaching EGOT status.

Here’s how to watch.https://t.co/MfODdF29GW

— NPR (@NPR) June 12, 2022

Tony trivia: If A Strange Loop wins best musical, Jennifer Hudson, one of the Broadway producers, may get her EGOT. #TonyAwards

— Hal Corley (@Halcyon270) June 12, 2022