Michael R. Jackson (born 1981) is an American playwright, composer, and lyricist, best known for his musical ''

A Strange Loop ''A Strange Loop'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' premiered on Bro ...

'', 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 ...

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, Michigan.

Career

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, te ...

''. He sang "Lonesome of the Road" on a tribute album for

Elizabeth Swados Elizabeth Swados (February 5, 1951 – January 5, 2016) was an American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Swados received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Origin ...

. 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 supplement 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. ...

'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, ''

'', received its world premiere at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit 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. Under the ...

in New York City in 2019. After a 6-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-provokin ...

in Washington D.C in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in April 2022. His next musical, White Girl in Danger is set to begin previews at the Tony Kiser Theater on March 15th, 2023.

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 The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs ( British English; standard ...

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 The Lambda Literary Award for Drama is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation to an LGBT-related literary or theatrical work. Most nominees are plays, or anthologies of plays; however, non-fiction works on theatre or ...

and a Fred Ebb Award for aspiring musical theatre songwriters. Additionally, Jackson received two

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

, two

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

, 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 newsp ...

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 march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay-oriented lifestyle 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 founded by David ...

'' named him among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people". 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 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 of the main cerem ...

, 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 public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

and attended New York University. He is openly gay.

References

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