06/07 season
book and lyrics by stew
music by stew / heidi rodewald
created in collaboration with and directed by annie dorsen
choreography by karole armitage
in association with the public theater
thrust stage
october 19–december 3, 2006
WORLD PREMIERE
running time: 2 hours and 40 minutes,
including one 15 minute intermission
the show
on broadway
Learn more about the Broadway production of this show.
interview with stew
Stew sat down with us to talk about the show. Listen to an excerpt from the interview (3.6MB mp3).
stew has a blog!
Read Stew’s frequently posted insights about Passing Strange and making theatre, over on stewsongs.com.
The world premiere of Passing Strange takes musical theatre on a whole new trip. It’s the heartfelt and hilarious story of a young bohemian who charts a course for “the real” through sex, drugs and rock and roll. Loaded with soulful lyrics and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity.
the sound
You can hear a little music from Passing Strange in our KFOG radio spot. Just click here (1MB mp3).
the artist
Stew is Entertainment Weekly’s two-time artist of the year. The Village Voice says his unique sound, dubbed Afro-Baroque cabaret, is “smart and tart, fussy and funny,” while the LA Times describes his lyrics as “gorgeous, deeply-felt, wildly sophisticated and at times hilarious.”
the buzz
“An engaging coming-of-age story told with the energy of an art-rock concert…A portrait of the artist as a young bohemian…Tuneful songs keep its pulse racing…Cooking on every form from gospel and blues to punk, cabaret, soul, minstrel, calypso and performance art.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Stew rocks, yo! Musically, the singer/songwriter serves up one hot dish with Passing Strange…It’s the archetypal hipster-coming-of-age tale…the score is smokin’. Full of funkadelic feel-good anthems, it slides from punk to rock to blues like a good party mix.”—San Jose Mercury News
“A terrific show…a musical in the guise of a concert…pulsates with the sounds of pop, rock, funk, punk, gospel, folk and New Wave…Music that feels authentic—a rarity in this world of shiny, corporate musical theater.”—Oakland Tribune
“Stop reading right now and buy tickets to Passing Strange before it heads to New York…If more new musicals looked like this, we might yet see a revitalization of Broadway.”—SFist
“Music this smart and tart, fussy and funny, will never hit the mainstream.”—Village Voice
“A piece of musical theater…that paints an alternately uproarious and heartbreaking picture of the black experience from suburbia to bohemia…If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get your butt to Berkeley, plant it in a seat, and be wowed.”—San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Perhaps the finest collection of songs an American songwriter has come up with this year.“—New York Times
“To simply call him an artist is understatement…with every brush stroke of music, Stew creates an indelible image in our minds.”—All Music Guide
“Yes, he’s good! We named Stew’s last two LPs Albums of the Year; how many times must you be told?”—Entertainment Weekly
“There I sat Friday night, in the theatre where I saw so many plays as a kid…It’s a fantastic musical odyssey…a work of genius. I’m jealous.”—Adam Duritz of Counting Crows
The LA Times reports on the origins of Passing Strange
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Sam Hurwitt on the show’s development
Read about Stew’s musical travelogue in the San Jose Mercury News
Read a New Yorker article about Passing Strange choreographer Karole Armitage (PDF)
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press photos
season sponsors
