Passing Strange: An autobiographical musical journey traveling from a downtown success to a Broadway rave!
Stew’s relationship with his glasses was one of the mesmerizing features of “Passing Strange,” his upbeat musical that garnered rave reviews in New York after opening at the Belasco Theatre in March. Do these spectacles belong on his forehead or on his eyes, and what makes him change their position so often? Is it a mysterious symbolism, a sign for his musicians, or just a nervous habit? The questions will be left unanswered, but this behavior is intriguing especially since there is not a hair on this small, round, man’s head to push back.
“Passing Strange,” directed by Annie Dorsen, with music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald and choreography by Karole Armitage, premiered in 2006 at California’s Berkeley Repertory Theatre, then opened at the Public Theater in New York in spring of ‘06. Urged on by resplendent reviews, Stew and company traveled to Broadway where they will undoubtedly enjoy a long home stay. I hope he is taking his vitamins.
The show is not a feel-good story about a downtrodden black man’s discovery of himself and ultimate resurgence as a musical artist. On the contrary, the tale settles around a middle class young black man with an invested mother and her dreams for her son to become a worthwhile young man. One thing is missing. The son wants to find himself on his own terms. He wants to develop as a musical artist, and live a little. Hash houses in Amsterdam seem to fill his longings for a time, the punk rock lifestyle in Berlin is a next stop, but eventually he goes home to develop his talent though it comes a bit too late to connect with his mom. Through all this “Stew”( his real name is Mark Stewart) strums his guitar, sings his tunes, and is backed up by excellent musicians. Some of them sit in gaping holes in the stage floor where only the top of the body is seen. This gives pause for thought for Armitage as she constructs some precocious choreography for essentially non-dancers who have remarkable style, rhythm and guts.
Avoiding those holes in the stage floor are these nimble triple-threat performers, a cast of seven, trotting through two acts of varied material. Led by Daniel Breaker, the son, who is as gifted a performer as is currently gracing the Broadway stage in this pre-Tony period. He is not much to look at; in fact the word ordinary comes to mind, but when he gets out of the chair he is lounging in and the show begins to unfold, he sets the pace with a voice that can make you angry, sad, and jolly all at the same time. He becomes the alter ego of Stew as he begins his investigation of life, constantly confronted by Stew’s questioning and demanding answers.
Armitage, in her Broadway debut, acquits herself extremely well. In the second act the performers jump, wiggle, shout and are all over the place expelling physical energy while singing. I would think this assignment to be a departure for her, a choreographer usually involved in the sleek lines of ballet and pointe work. But she does have the gift of moving actors in ways that show them off, and not one appeared ungainly or made you wince, fearful that they were on the way to injury. That is intelligence a lot of choreographers don’t possess – the ability to exhibit their performers in seemingly risk-taking moves in a manner that thrills the audience but does not end in bodily harm.
If you are looking for another “The Music Man” or “My Fair Lady” score and solid book musical, look the other way. “Passing Strange” is nowhere near what can be termed a vintage Broadway musical. Following on the heels of “Rent” and “Spring Awakening,” “Strange” has also broken ranks with the term “musical.” Good for Stew. He tells his story about not being black enough for ghetto likeability with affable songs and dialogue in a tour de force performance. It has already become groupie material as evidenced by the chorus of young people in the audience chiming in on the lyrics.
By the way, check out the ladies room of the Belasco with its turn-of-the-century sinks, stall doors, and a real telephone booth still in working order. If the goings-on upstairs are symbolic of the future of Broadway, the downstairs will surely make you wistful for the nostalgia of bygone days.