{"id":370866,"date":"2025-07-28T21:22:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=370866"},"modified":"2025-07-28T21:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:22:57","slug":"with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/","title":{"rendered":"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The opening number of Michael R. Jackson\u2019s musical A Strange Loop <\/em>has always plunged me into a dizzying mirror world: I watch cruel reflections of myself as a queer man of color in the theater, and then the people staring back at me transform wildly. The musical opens with Usher, who introduces himself<\/a> as a fat gay Black man attempting to write a \u201cBIG BLACK AND QUEER-ASS \/ AMERICAN BROADWAY SHOW.\u201d An all-Black, six-person chorus of Thoughts stands at his side, manifestations of Usher\u2019s aching psyche. In one song, we realize Usher\u2019s musical-in-progress is actually the very show we\u2019re watching. And because Jackson (who wrote the show\u2019s book, score, and lyrics) shares the same identities as Usher, we also realize A Strange Loop <\/em>is a metafictional staging of Jackson\u2019s own aching psyche.<\/p>\n

After a 2019 off-Broadway premiere, A Strange Loop <\/em>drew immense critical praise, subsequently winning the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama<\/a>, premiering in DC in 2021 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company<\/a>, and winning the 2022 Tony for Best Musical<\/a>. It\u2019s surreal, then, to see the show return to DC in a new production by Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) in collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre. Director and choreographer Alexandra Wailes has created a bilingual production performed in both English and American Sign Language (ASL). It\u2019s a wild creative gambit for an already wildly creative show, and Wailes\u2019 staging rings true. But like its source material, this production also rings with frustrating contradictions.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tyler \u2018T\u2019 Lang, Gabriel Silva, Wade Green, Damien DeShaun Smith, and Jeremy Rashad Brown in \u2018A Strange Loop.\u2019 Photo by Andrew Robertson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this production\u2019s opening number, Usher (portrayed by Hard-of-Hearing actor and ASL music performer Gabriel Silva) signs to the audience, while non-Deaf audience members hear the Voice of Usher (Tyler \u201cT\u201d Lang). Behind Silva, video projections of Thoughts appear alongside written English captions of their words. Soon the Thoughts arrive onstage: three actors who perform and sign in American Sign Language (Mervin Primeaux-OBryant, Malik Paris, Wade Green) and three actors who perform and sing in English (ELLISON K., Damien DeShaun Smith, Jeremy Rashad Brown). It\u2019s only when Usher asks, \u201cCan I really write this?\u201d that Lang enters the stage dressed identically to Silva. The duo offer familiar but new reflections for each other.<\/p>\n

A Strange Loop <\/em>is not a show explicitly written for Deaf performers or about Deaf characters. What is gained by reviving a musical with both? The best Deaf adaptations find dramaturgical justification: their characters don\u2019t just \u201chappen to be Deaf,\u201d but Deaf culture meaningfully shapes characters\u2019 lives, relationships, motivations, and choices. For example, in Deaf West\u2019s 2016 Broadway revival of <\/a>Spring Awakening<\/em><\/a>, Deaf teens struggled to communicate with non-Deaf parents because of a language barrier. When Deaf teens expressed themselves in song, they signed alongside singing counterparts \u2014 non-Deaf actors described as<\/a> the Deaf characters\u2019 \u201csubconscious\u201d or \u201cguardian angels.\u201d<\/p>\n

In VOCA\u2019s A Strange Loop<\/em>, the Thoughts are more bullying shapeshifters than guardian angels, but that staging resonates in this uncanny show. A Strange Loop <\/em>cycles through outrageous satires of Broadway, Grindr, the Chitlin Circuit<\/a>, and Usher\u2019s devout Christian parents. This Thought chorus embodies all of these characters with panache and ribald humor, bringing Jackson\u2019s staggeringly inventive lyrics to life. As someone not fluent in ASL, I can\u2019t speak to how well Director of Artistic Sign Language Kailyn Aaron-Loranzo has adapted Jackson\u2019s language. I do find it harrowing and humorous to see actors sign with flopped wrists when Jackson\u2019s script uses the word \u201cfag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wailes states in the show\u2019s program that with a Deaf Usher, \u201cA different and even deeper perspective is revealed with the frequency of having one\u2019s identity being further scrutinized and challenged.\u201d Indeed, Wailes\u2019 direction shines when differences of identity challenge Usher. The excellent actors who portray Usher\u2019s mother (ELLISON K. and Smith) always communicate to their son without signing. The implication that Usher\u2019s mother is non-Deaf adds more distance in their strained relationship. That in turn makes Usher\u2019s completely signed conversations feel all the more supportive \u2014 especially with characters portrayed by Primeaux-OBryant, who offers a charismatic presence.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TOP: Wade Green, Damien DeShaun Smith, Malik Paris, Jeremy Rashad Brown, Gabriel Silva, and Tyler \u2018T\u2019 Lang; ABOVE: ELLISON K., Jeremy Rashad Brown, Gabriel Silva, Damien DeShaun Smith, Mervin Primeaux OBryant, Tyler \u2018T\u2019 Lang, Malik Paris, and Wade Green, in \u2018A Strange Loop.\u2019 Photos by Andrew Robertson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This show\u2019s combination of ASL, English, song, and captions creates a heightened theatrical language that continually surprises the audience. The absence of Simultaneous Communication (SimCom), when a person signs and speaks simultaneously, also helps performers not to water down their idiosyncratic performances.<\/p>\n

Other times the Thoughts\u2019 fluid staging proves frustrating. Characters like Usher\u2019s father and agent are portrayed by Deaf and non-Deaf actors, and I wondered if these characters\u2019 prejudices would be more clear if definitively portrayed as non-Deaf. Wailes\u2019 complex staging sometimes feels too literal (video projections visualize language already communicated by actors) or too abstract (the use of silhouettes in a humiliating sex scene feels like a cop-out from Jackson\u2019s raw writing).<\/p>\n

What this production nails is Usher\u2019s distressed relationship to his own mind. Silva and Lang\u2019s performances bind and diverge like contrapuntal melodies. Audiences watch Usher fracture into two bodies: Silva\u2019s performance will sometimes become earnest and sincere, while Lang simultaneously becomes exasperated and sullen. Having Usher staged by two partners-in-crime onstage risks draining the musical of its terrifying loneliness, but Wailes uses Lang\u2019s presence purposefully. During Usher\u2019s crucial solos and monologues, Lang will sometimes sit in the audience or stand silently beside Silva, feeling like a dissociative part of Usher\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

Silva\u2019s and Lang\u2019s performances offer a triumphant, surrealist doubling. When Usher looks across the stage at his other self, it\u2019s like a performer confronting his audience, or an artist staring at his own creation. To me, it felt like Lang often represented Michael R. Jackson and Silva represented members of the Deaf community. Jackson premiered this musical six years ago, but somehow Usher has twisted out of Jackson\u2019s control. Usher\u2019s now performed and reinterpreted by people who both share Jackson\u2019s identities but also layer their own identities on top of his.<\/p>\n

There are limits to this layering project, to adding on identities to shows that aren\u2019t written with those identities in mind. When Usher states at the top of the show that he\u2019s \u201cable-bodied,\u201d I went with it because not all members of the Deaf community identify as \u201cdisabled.\u201d Yet near the climax of the show, Usher critiques the systems of oppression he\u2019s caught in, stating \u201c…the anti-Black world we live in gets so strung out on this color-blind \u2018love is love\u2019 bullshit.\u201d A Deaf Usher would absolutely also<\/em> call out society as anti-Deaf. But the word \u201canti-Deaf\u201d is unfortunately trapped in this production\u2019s subtext. Yes, there are fat, Black, queer men who are also Deaf \u2014 but Usher doesn\u2019t explicitly discuss Deafness in A Strange Loop <\/em>the way he does Blackness or queerness.<\/p>\n

This is the pitfall of productions that add identities onto characters \u2014 from the \u201ccolor-conscious\u201d casting<\/a> of Hamilton<\/em> to the Black-led<\/a> Broadway production of Gypsy<\/em> to contemporary realist plays that don\u2019t specify the races of their characters. All of these shows resonate <\/em>more deeply by casting actors of marginalized identities in their main roles, but their scripts don\u2019t actually speak <\/em>directly to people of those identities in the audience. I\u2019m reminded of August Wilson\u2019s 1996 speech \u201cThe Ground on Which I Stand,\u201d<\/a> in which he critiqued colorblind casting for refusing to stage Black Americans\u2019 \u201cphilosophy, mythology, creative motif, social organization, and ethos.\u201d The Deaf community certainly has all those things, too. But despite VOCA\u2019s resonant casting, this production of A Strange Loop <\/em>can\u2019t stage the Deaf community fully due to Jackson\u2019s hyperspecific script.<\/p>\n

However, this production of A Strange Loop <\/em>draws out a dissonant aspect of the musical: creating art as a form of self-harm. I\u2019ve always thought the theme connecting A Strange Loop<\/em>\u2019s vignettes was humiliation. But watching two actors stare into each other\u2019s eyes as Usher, it felt like the older version of Jackson was forcing the younger version of himself to constantly relive his worst fears and experiences. This constant reliving is also just life. Without the older Jackson restaging the younger Jackson, A Strange Loop <\/em>would never exist at all.<\/p>\n

I think about the 20-year-old version of myself who first listened to A Strange Loop <\/em>in 2019, feeling like his world had dramatically cracked open. I know the unbearable pain he\u2019ll go through in the next six years, and part of me wants to remove him from the loop, to end his suffering. Still, I know he\u2019ll become the person who nervously goes back to see that same musical in 2025. He\u2019ll discover another version of himself, beautifully performed, staring back at him onstage. He\u2019s ready for the next verse of a familiar but somehow new song.<\/p>\n

Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

A Strange Loop<\/strong><\/em><\/a> plays through August 10, 2025, presented by Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre, performing in the Sprenger Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. Tickets range from $29.25-$45.25 (fees included) and are available online.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The program for A Strange Loop<\/em> is online here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ages 18+ (adults only). Content Warnings: Mild use of flashing or strobing lights. Frequently occurring swearing or coarse language. Regularly occurring sexual content. Mild references of self-harm, sexual assault, and grief.<\/p>\n

Aboug this collaboration, playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson said:
\n\u201cI am thrilled that Deaf Austin Theatre and Visionaries of the Creative Arts are collaborating to bring A Strange Loop<\/em> to their audiences. Though A Strange Loop<\/em> is told through Usher\u2019s very specific lens, it has always been my intent that his story resonates universally throughout the human condition. I believe these two theaters will crack the piece open even further in a unique way that only they can do and for that reason, I enthusiastically support this co-production.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Strange Loop<\/strong><\/em>
\nBook, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
\nDirected and choreographed by Alexandria Wailes<\/p>\n

CAST
\nUsher – Gabriel Silva
\nVoice of Usher – Tyler \u201cT\u201d Lang
\nThought 1 – Mervin Primeaux-OBryant
\nThought 2 – ELLISON K.
\nThought 3 – Malik Paris
\nThought 4 – Damien DeShaun Smith
\nThought 5 – Wade Green
\nThought 6 – Jeremy Rashad Brown
\nSwing – Elbert Joseph
\nSwing – Terrence Berry<\/p>\n

CREATIVE TEAM
\nProducer, Artistic Director, VOCA – Michelle Banks
\nProducer, Artistic Director, DAT – Brian Cheslik
\nDirector and choreographer, Associate Artistic Director, VOCA – Alexandria Wailes
\nAssociate Director \/ Music Supervisor – Stanley Bahorek
\nMusic Director – Walter \u201cBobby\u201d McCoy
\nDirector of Artistic Sign Language (DASL) – Kailyn Aaron-Lozano
\nCreative Service Manager – Def Lens Media<\/p>\n

PRODUCTION & DESIGN TEAM
\nLine Producer – Andrew Morrill
\nProduction Manager – Bethany Slater
\nStage Manager – Sarah Poole
\nAssistant Stage Manager – Katie Loyd
\nAssistant Stage Manager – Jason Eastman
\nLighting Designer – Helen Garcia-Anton
\nSet Designer – Jessica Trementozzi
\nCostume Designer – Isabelle Fields
\nSound Designer – Liv Farley
\nProjection Designer – Julian Kelley
\nCaption Designer – Andres Poch
\nIntimacy Director – Emily Sucher<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\nDeaf theater companies co-produce fresh staging of \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 <\/a><\/strong>(news story, July 8, 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical. By NATHAN PUGH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":370870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[737,738],"class_list":{"0":"post-370866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews","8":"tag-deaf-austin-theatre","9":"tag-visionaries-of-the-creative-arts"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nWith a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T01:22:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/\",\"name\":\"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-29T01:22:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\"},\"description\":\"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Tyler \u2018T\u2019 Lang, Gabriel Silva, Wade Green, Damien DeShaun Smith, and Jeremy Rashad Brown in \u2018A Strange Loop.\u2019 Photo by Andrew Robertson.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\",\"name\":\"Nathan Pugh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Nathan Pugh\"},\"description\":\"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance - DC Theater Arts","description":"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance","og_description":"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2025-07-29T01:22:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Pugh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Pugh","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/","name":"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-07-29T01:22:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29"},"description":"Visionaries of the Creative Arts and Deaf Austin Theatre present a bold reimagining of the Pulitzer-winning musical.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3B2A6855-800x600-1.jpeg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"Tyler \u2018T\u2019 Lang, Gabriel Silva, Wade Green, Damien DeShaun Smith, and Jeremy Rashad Brown in \u2018A Strange Loop.\u2019 Photo by Andrew Robertson."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/07\/28\/with-a-deaf-protagonist-a-strange-loop-finds-more-resonance-and-dissonance\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"With a Deaf protagonist, \u2018A Strange Loop\u2019 finds more resonance and dissonance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29","name":"Nathan Pugh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","caption":"Nathan Pugh"},"description":"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/"],"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}