The new musical Passing Strange is truly bringing
something "strange" to today's world of musical theatre… originality." Shaped out of personal life experiences, Passing Strange utters a refreshing
sound for the streets of Broadway.
Passing Strange, which garnered critical-acclaim during its New
York City debut at The Public Theatre last season, is described as "the moving
and hilarious tale of a young black bohemian on a journey of escape and
exploration: leaving the confines of his middle-class, church-reared youth in
south central L.A., the further he travels the more he discovers the journey
within is the one that counts." Previews
began Friday, February 8 with an Opening Night Thursday, February 28 at the
Belasco Theatre
Having first seen Passing Strange in its world premiere at
Berkeley Repertory Theatre in late-2005, BroadwayWorld's News Desk Editor, Eugene Lovendusky, reunited with some of the cast to discover more about their
eclectic mix of characters and the roots of this adventurous new musical which
seeks "the real"…
READ "THE STRANGERS
OF PASSING STRANGE" PART 1 HERE!
Eugene Lovendusky: Something
unique about this Broadway season is the variety of music represented
on-the-boards… and a variety of ethnicity on-stage. How is Passing
Strange your traditional musical theatre piece? And how is Passing Strange a black theatre piece?
Rebecca Naomi Jones: The
thing everybody can relate to, no matter who they are, Passing Strange is a coming of age story. There's this kid who is
traveling the world in search of himself and in search of what's real, and
what's love.
Stew: That's very
traditional.
Rebecca: While
the message ultimately is love, we all have different ways of arriving at that.
But what makes this a black musical is that… we're black. Well, no, actually I'm only half-black…
[laughs] This musical is really about me and my issues and who I really am!
Chad Goodridge: My therapist loves this
play.
Rebecca: The
exploration of a black person coming of age in America is a version of the story
we don't always get to hear. That's what our show is. It's not a black musical
where we are singing our faces off or trying to bring the house down every five
minutes.
Eisa Davis: That's the
stereotype and expectation.
Rebecca: But with
most TV and film and media that we see, the black people are either angry or
mean or wise or really fat with an attitude… or really funny! But still fat.
[laughs] We've got the places we're allowed to fit in too. This show lets us
tell our version of an old story.
Chad: That's really one of the things that
excites me about this play. A lot of the things that are considered as "traditional
black theatre" don't really resonate with me. Those stories are not necessarily
things I'm interested in seeing. But this musical in particular… I get this. I
know this. I can connect to this story in a different context as an
African-American. It's not just one thing that defines these people. People can
come see this show and see themselves. But that goes for everyone! It crosses
over.
Stew: That might
be a challenge to a "traditional Broadway audience" that maybe expects to see
six black folk "singing their faces off." It's very clear that the subject
matter is serious and to be dealt with, but each actor on-stage is part of it.
The songs are catchy, but there are deeper ideas.
