Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre‘s historic collaboration and co-production of A Strange Loop, the Tony Award-winning musical by Michael R. Jackson, has come to the nation’s capital.
Playing now through Sunday, Aug. 10, at the Sprenger Theatre at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in the H Street Corridor. Tickets start at $29.25 and are now on sale.
Originally produced Off-Broadway in 2019 and performed at DC’s Arena Stage in 2021, A Strange Loop premiered on Broadway in April 2022, winning Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards. A Strange Loop follows Usher, a Black queer man, as he writes a musical about a Black queer man writing a musical. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is renowned for its raw, incisive humor and its profound exploration of identity, self-perception, and artistic struggle.
This innovative co-production marks the first time two Deaf theater companies in the U.S. have joined forces to stage a performance, bringing a fresh perspective to Jackson’s critically acclaimed work. A Strange Loop will be performed by a company of Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing artists in ASL and Spoken/Sung English. It is being directed and choreographed by Alexandria Wailes with Stanley Bahorek serving as the associate director and music supervisor.
“I’m thrilled to bring A Strange Loop back to the DC theater scene—this time through a powerful Deaf BIPOC lens,” said VOCA Artistic Director Michelle Banks. “This reimagined production will celebrate our culture and community by presenting the show in a fully bilingual format, blending Spoken English and American Sign Language (ASL). It’s more than a performance; it’s a communal experience that centers Deaf artistry, intersectional identity, and the brilliance of Black and queer expression.”
Casting includes Gabriel Silva as Usher; Tyler “T” Lang as Voice of Usher; Mervin Primeaux O’Bryant as Thought 1; ELLISON K. as Thought 2; Malik Paris as Thought 3; Damien DeShaun Smith as Thought 4; as Wade Green Thought 5; Jeremy Rashad Brown as Thought 6; and deaf swing Elbert Joseph and hearing swing Terrence Berry.
Additional production team members for A Strange Loop include Kailyn Aaron-Lozan as director of artistic sign language, music direction by Walter “Bobby” McCoy, set design by Jessica Trementozzi, costumes by Isabelle Fields, lighting design by Helen Garcia-Anton, projection design by Julian Kelley, sound design by Kevin Alexander, caption design by Andres Poch, and intimacy direction by Emily Sucher.
“This collaborative partnership is a significant opportunity for us to elevate the representation and raise awareness of the talents of Black Deaf individuals in musical theater,” agreed Banks and DAT Artistic Director Dr. Brian Cheslik.
Following the DC engagement, A Strange Loop will play at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin from Aug. 28 to Sept. 14, 2025. Tickets for the Austin engagement start at $42 and are on sale now at deafaustintheatre.org.
