Why the Tony winning author of 'A Strange Loop' wants to upend the American musical
LOS ANGELES — Before dedicating himself to musical theater, playwright and composer Michael R. Jackson had a different dream: to be a soap opera writer.
"I thought I was going to work my way up and become the head writer for 'One Life to Live,'" he said, speaking at a swanky new hotel's rooftop cafe in downtown L.A. "That was my ambition when I was an 18-year-old."
The soap opera bug never completely left him. Not even after the astounding success he had with "A Strange Loop," his Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical that opened at the Ahmanson Theatre last week.
"White Girl in Danger," his satirical musical that had its premiere last year off-Broadway, follows the machinations of the entitled inhabitants of Allwhite, a fictional town that behaves like a village in a daytime serial under the scrutiny of a sociologist with a wicked sense of humor. Critics were sniffy, but Jackson said he stands "100% behind it" and would love another crack.
Jackson's most recent musical, "Teeth," which had its premiere this year at Playwrights Horizons, where "A Strange Loop" was launched, is an adaptation of Mitchell Lichtenstein's screenplay for his 2007 cult horror film. Jackson wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book with Anna K. Jacobs, who composed the music. Reviews were mixed, but tickets were hard to come by for a
