Michael R. Jackson (born 1981) is an American playwright, composer, and lyricist, best known for his musical '' A Strange Loop'', which won the 2020

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

and the 2022

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

. He is originally from Detroit.

Career

Jackson interned for a time at ABC, working on daytime programming, specifically ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

''. Jackson has described himself as "a huge soap person," and wanted to originally write for soaps. Jackson wrote the book and lyrics for ''Only Children'' with composer Rachel Peters, which was presented at NYU's Frederick Loewe Theatre. He also wrote lyrics and co-wrote the book, with Anna K. Jacobs, for the musical adaptation of the 2007 indie film ''

Teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

''. He sang "Lonesome of the Road" on a tribute album for Elizabeth Swados. In 2019, his song cycle, ''The Kids on the Lawn'', was published in ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

's ''culture issue. The issue, organized around the theme "America 2024", imagines what America will be like five years into the future. Jackson's musical, '' A Strange Loop'', received its world premiere at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

in New York City in 2019. After a six-week run at the

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provok ...

in Washington, D.C., in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2022. His musical ''White Girl in Danger'' began previews at the Tony Kiser Theater on March 15, 2023, and opened on April 10, 2023. The musical explores the intersections of race, class, and identity in daytime soap operas.

Major works

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Jackson received a Jonathan Larson Grant from the American Theatre Wing and was one of 11 winners of the 2017 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. He was also a Sundance Theatre Institute Composer Fellow and a 2016–2017 Dramatist Guild Fellow. Jackson was named one of the "Black Male Writers for our Time" by ''The New York Times'' in 2018. In 2019, he received a Whiting Award for drama and a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting. In 2020, Jackson was awarded the

for ''A Strange Loop'', becoming the first black musical theatre writer to win the award. He was also the winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Drama and a

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters. Additionally, Jackson received two Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, two

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

Honors, and an Antonyo Award for Best Book for ''A Strange Loop''. In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ

Pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay- and LGBTQ-oriented entertainment and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors. History ''Queerty'' was ...

'' named him among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people". In 2022, Jackson was featured in the book ''50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre'', with a profile written by theatre scholar Aviva Helena Neff. In March 2021, Jackson was awarded the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize for drama. At the

75th Tony Awards The 75th Tony Awards were held on June 12, 2022, to recognize achievement in Broadway theatre, Broadway productions during the 2021–22 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with Ariana DeBose serving as host ...

, Jackson's musical ''A Strange Loop'' was nominated for 11 awards, winning Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.

Personal life

Jackson studied at

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...

and attended New York University. He is openly gay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Michael R. 1981 births 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male writers African-American composers African-American dramatists and playwrights African-American LGBTQ people African-American male composers African-American songwriters American gay musicians American gay writers American LGBTQ composers American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights American LGBTQ songwriters American lyricists American male dramatists and playwrights Cass Technical High School alumni Gay composers Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay songwriters Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners LGBTQ people from Michigan Living people Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from Detroit

Career

Major works

Awards and recognition

Personal life

See also

References