| Passing Strange is a semi-autobiographical musical with lyrics and book by Stew and music and orchestrations by Stew and Heide Rodewald. The musical premiered on October 19, 2006, at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California. It was then produced off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York City, running from May 14, 2007, through June 3, 2007. The show began previews at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway on February 8, 2008, and officially opened on February 28, 2008. 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, South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. 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. Passing Strange has received seven 2008 Drama Desk Award nominations and nominations for a number of other awards. |
"Amsterdam" from the musical "Passing Strange" |
November Top South Pacific |
