Passing Strange
is a musical with lyrics and book by Stew and music and orchestrations by Stew and Heidi Rodewald.
The musical was developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in 2004 and 2005, one of the only works ever to be invited back for a second round of development. [1]
It had productions in Berkeley, California and off-Broadway before opening on Broadway in 2008.
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PASSING STRANGE TICKETS
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Production history
Passing Strange
premiered on October 19, 2006, at the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre in
Berkeley, California.
[2] It was then produced off-Broadway at
The Public Theatre in
New York City, running from May 14, 2007, through June 3, 2007.
[3] The musical began previews at the
Belasco Theatre on Broadway on February 8, 2008, and officially opened on February 28, 2008.
[4] It closed with the matinee performance on July 20, 2008 after 165 performances.
[5]
Passing Strange
won the 2008
Drama Desk Awards for outstanding musical, music and lyrics (out of seven nominations), among a number of other awards and nominations. The musical has also been awarded the
New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Audelco Award for Best Musical – as well as Best Director (Annie Dorsen), Best
Musical Director (Rodewald), and Best Performance (Daniel Breaker), an Obie Award for Best New Theatre Piece – as well as Outstanding Ensemble.
Plot summary
A young black musician travels on a
picaresque journey to rebel against his mother and his upbringing in a church-going, middle-class, late 1970s South Central
Los Angeles neighborhood in order to find "the real". He finds new experiences in promiscuous
Amsterdam, with its easy access to drugs and sex, and in artistic, chaotic, political
Berlin, where he struggles with ethics and integrity when he misrepresents his background as poor to get ahead. Along with his "passing" from place to place and from lover to lover, the young musician moves through a number of musical styles from a background of gospel to punk, and then blues, jazz, and rock. He finally returns home.
Roles and original Broadway cast
- Narrator - Stew
- Youth - Daniel Breaker
- Edwina/Marianna/Sudabey - De'Adre Aziza
- Mother - Eisa Davis
- Mr. Franklin/Joop/Mr. Venus - Colman Domingo
- Terry/Christophe/Hugo - Chad Goodridge
- Sherry/Renata/Desi - Rebecca Naomi Jones
Song list
;Act I
- Prologue (We Might Play All Night)--Narrator, Heidi and the Band
- Baptist Fashion Show—Narrator and Ensemble
- Blues Revelation/Freight Train—Narrator and Ensemble
- Arlington Hill—Narrator
- Sole Brother—Youth, Terry and Sherry
- Must've Been High—Narrator
- Mom Song—Narrator, Mother and Ensemble
- Merci Beaucoup, M. Godard—Narrator and Stewardesses
- Amsterdam—Ensemble
- Keys—Marianna, Youth and Narrator
- We Just Had Sex—Youth, Marianna and Renata
- Stoned—Youth,Marianna,Ensemble
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;Act II
- May Day—Narrator and Ensemble
- Surface—Mr. Venus
- Damage—Narrator, Desi and Youth
- Identity—Youth
- The Black One—Narrator and Ensemble
- Come Down Now—Heidi and Desi
- Work the Wound–Youth and Narrator
- Passing Phase—Youth and Narrator
- Love Like That—Narrator and Heidi
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Critical reaction
Reviews on Broadway were positive.
Charles Isherwood wrote in
The New York Times
:
"Although it is far richer in wit, feeling and sheer personality than most of what is classified as musical theater in the neighborhood around Times Square these days, its big heart throbs to the sound of electric guitars, searing synthesizer chords, driving drums and lyrics delivered not in a clean croon but a throaty yelp....
Passing Strange
is bursting at the seams with melodic songs, and it features a handful of theatrical performances to treasure.... Call it a rock concert with a story to tell, trimmed with a lot of great jokes. Or call it a sprawling work of performance art, complete with angry rants and scary drag queens.... I'll just call it wonderful, and a welcome anomaly on Broadway...."
[6]
Reviews of the film were even more so.
A. O. Scott wrote in
The New York Times
:
"But here’s the strange thing. When I saw Spike Lee’s film adaptation, “Passing Strange: The Movie,” in effect a video recording of a performance identical to the one I’d witnessed at the Belasco Theater in 2008, I was blown away. Loose ends ceased to dangle; soft spots were smoothed away and slow passages tightened up."
[7]
Passing Strange: The Movie
Spike Lee made a permanent record of the Broadway production "for generations and generations to see" by filming the last three performances in front of audiences. His documentary had its world premiere on January 16 at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival [8] and opened at the
IFC Center in
New York City's
West Village on August 21, 2009.
Awards and nominations
;
Tony Awards Nominations
- Best Musical
- Best Actor (Stew)
- Best Featured Actor (Daniel Breaker)
- Best Featured Actress (de'Adre Aziza)
- Best Original Score (Stew and Heidi Rodewald)
- Best Book (Stew) (winner
)
- Best Orchestrations (Stew and Heidi Rodewald)
;
Drama Desk Awards
- Outstanding Musical (winner
)
- Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Daniel Breaker) (nominee)
- Outstanding Choreography (Karole Armitage) (nominee)
- Outstanding Music (Stew and Heidi Rodewald) (winner
)
- Outstanding Lyrics (Stew) (winner
)
- Outstanding Book of a Musical (Stew) (nominee)
- Outstanding Orchestrations (Stew and Heidi Rodewald) (nominee)
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award:
Best Musical
Outer Critics Circle Awards nomination:
Outstanding New Score
;
Drama League Award nominations
- Distinguished Production of a Musical
- Distinguished Performance Award (Daniel Breaker, Stew)
;
Lucille Lortel nominations
- Outstanding Musical (Produced by The Public Theater, in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
- Outstanding Director (Annie Dorsen)
- Outstanding Lighting Design
- Theatre World Awards for Best Debut Performances (Breaker and de’Adre Aziza)
References
- Sundance Institute Theatre Lab
- Berkeley Repertory listing
- ''New York Times'' review, May 15, 2007
- playbill.com article, Feb. 8, 2008, Welcome to Amsterdam: Passing Strange Begins Performances on Broadway Feb. 8
- broadwayworld.com article, July 10, 2008, Passing Strange to Close on Broadway July 20
- Isherwood, Charles. "It's a Hard Rock Life", ''New York Times'', February 29, 2008
- Scott, A.O. "A Young Artist’s Journey, This Time on Film", ''New York Times'', August 21, 2009
- Boehm, Mike.Spike Lee to make Sundance debut with musical 'Passing Strange' ",''Los Angeles Times'', December 6, 2008