Lexi Sterling: Empathy Found in Theatre
Another Thursday, another theatre, I thought to myself as I scrambled to get to Woolly Mammoth Theatre on time. It had been a long week, and all I really wanted was to go to bed. The weekend was so close!
Just two more shows to attend, I told myself. This class is almost finished.
* * *
Students of the South Carolina Washington Semester Program are enrolled in three courses, one of which is “Theatre in Washington D.C.” For this semester-long course, our cohort watched six live shows in the DMV area. In preparation for our trip to Philadelphia, we also watched Hamilton on Disney+.
In between visiting local theatres, our cohort met in a traditional class setting. During class meetings, we discussed foundational elements of theatre and reflected on our impressions of the productions we recently watched. In addition, we learned about the “Graying of the American Audience” in theatre, in which the bulk of theatre goers are growing old, with too few young people interested (or wealthy) enough to replace their seats.
As someone with little theatre experience outside of watching two shows on Broadway in New York, I learned a lot from this course. Even though all of the productions were entertaining and enriching, there was one special show that caught my attention and stole my heart
NYC Playbill
In early December, our cohort visited Woolly Mammoth Theatre to watch a pre-Broadway and 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama entitled A Strange Loop. Written by Michael R. Jackson, this production’s plot centers on an overweight Black queer man named Usher who is at battle with both himself and his journey to write an original musical. The protagonist of Usher’s own musical, too, is a Black queer man struggling to write an original musical. While attempting to draft theatre scenes, Usher and his six intrusive, hilarious, and rarely supportive Thoughts navigate pressures from religious parents, judgmental family, sexual dating apps, impulsive one-night stands, Black historical figures, and Tyler Perry productions.
Two main components of the musical struck me. The first was a scene in which Usher sings a song called “Inner White Girl.” Usher’s inner white girl is confident and unafraid of conflict. The chorus lyrics are:
White girls can do anything, can’t they?
Black boys must always obey their mothers.
White girls can do anything, can’t they?
Can’t they, can’t they, can’t they?
The white girl inside of Usher protects his Blackness, which he feels is under constant attack. More than that, she lets Usher feel like a “human supernova” who can conquer Earth and who is the heir to “power and oppression.” He sings, “her kind has wielded since birth.” In contrast, sings Usher, Black boys don’t get to be vulnerable, luscious, wild, unwise, shy, or introspective.
During this scene, I wondered if the concept of an inner white girl was popular among Black queer males. Growing up as a white girl, I quickly caught on to my privilege and ease-of-access in scenarios as simple as walking into a gas station and as complicated as interviewing for a job. And I knew about jokes that mock white girls. But I had never considered others’ jealousies or desires to be a white girl. News and social media sources give headlines and information that are easily read and quickly ignored. Sitting in front of a live performer and immersing oneself into Usher’s world, on the other hand, invited me to ponder my privilege and consider others’ positions for a longer time.
The second component that pushed me to consider the impact of race in America is the subtheme of Tyler Perry and his contributions to the entertainment industry. Throughout the play, Usher’s parents praise Tyler Perry and want their son to produce works like his. The song “Tyler Perry Writes Real Life” is about a job proposal for Usher to write ghostwrite a Tyler Perry play. Usher loathes Tyler Perry, and gives reasons why:
That crap he puts on stage, film, and TV
Makes my bile want to rise!
Nothing that he writes seems real to me.
Then, the stage goes dark, and a dramatic Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin, Whitney Houston, and others enter in and call Usher a “race traitor.” They go on to praise Tyler Perry and his talent at writing about real life, shaming Usher along the way.
The famous figures’ praise and the subsequent scenes of Usher’s dark parody of a Tyler Perry play are sarcastic. Further, they are intended to highlight Perry’s display of stereotypical Black lifestyles in America. I am familiar with Tyler Perry but have actually seen very few of his productions, and none of the Madea franchise. So, I was surprised to see an apparent divide in the impressions of Tyler Perry. There are those like Usher’s mom, who believe that Perry has brought a lot of pride and success to the Black community. There are others who believe Perry has profited off of using the Black community.
In our next class meeting, I listened to my classmates’ impressions of the show, including the inner white girl complex and the Tyler Perry issue. My Black classmates confirmed the Perry controversy, and even acknowledged moments when they thought that our own theatre audience was inappropriately laughing. Essentially, they felt there were moments when the predominantly white audience was joining in on the mockery of Black people in A Strange Loop. I imagined that this confession made them feel extremely vulnerable. It must have been weird to admit those thoughts to a class of mostly white students. I didn’t think they were wrong, either. During the show, I found it difficult to decide when to laugh.
As a heterosexual white female, I found very little relatability on the surface levels of A Strange Loop. Of course, there were deeper levels of existential meaning and crisis that all audience members could relate to. But even though I had little relatability to the characteristics of being overweight, Black, or queer, I gained an understanding and subsequent empathy for any member of that community who wishes they were a white girl, were a little skinnier, or simply felt more accepted by society. In addition, I discovered the dark underside of Tyler Perry’s success and the controversy and cost of that success in the Black community.
This spring, the cast and team of A Strange Loop began their Broadway previews at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. Attending the show on Broadway is a major item on my bucket list.
As the show hits Broadway, though, I cannot help but feel wary. The predominantly white theatre community may not be ready for this. Of course, Black people “historically have been, and are still, otherized in America.” Otherizing is the opposite of humanizing; it takes away one’s ability to have empathy for the ‘other.’ My hope is that the theatre audiences do not otherize Usher and all that he represents. I hope that they can empathize with his struggles.
After watching A Strange Loop live and thoroughly discussing it with classmates of diverse backgrounds, I grew more aware of the struggles of the Black queer communities in America. In order to refresh the theatre audience and keep theatre alive, the industry has to change. I believe that this is what theatre needs more of: brilliantly executed productions that invite audience members to forget to otherize and to consider what life must truly be like for people outside of their community, network, and comfort zone.
* * *
Another Thursday, and an absolutely mind-boggling theatre, I thought to myself as I walked home with my classmates. A few hours earlier, I was sleepy and numb at the thought of sitting through another musical. But walking home, I felt alive. My head was buzzing as I processed the societal boundaries that were shattered onstage.
My final assignment in the theatre course was to write a review for A Strange Loop. You can bet that I spent that weekend pondering where to begin.
WSP Fall ’21 cohort outside of Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Alexandra “Lexi” Sterling is a senior business administration major with an emphasis in management and marketing from Monetta, S.C. She completed her breakaway experience within the South Carolina Washington Semester Program interning in U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan’s Office in Washington D.C. during the fall 2021 semester. Lexi will graduate from Lander University’s Honors College in May 2022, and she plans to move to Greenville, S.C. after graduation to pursue a career in banking and finance.