Today in 2008, Passing Strange opened at the Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 165 performances. Passing Strange is a rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery in Europe, drawing on heavy elements of existentialism, metafictional comedy, and the Künstlerroman. The musical's lyrics and book are by Stew with music and orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald and Stew. It was created in collaboration with director Annie Dorsen. The musical was developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in 2004 and 2005, one of the only works there ever to be invited back for a second round of development. It had productions in Berkeley, California and Off-Broadway before opening on Broadway in 2008, garnering strong reviews and several awards. Spike Lee filmed the musical on Broadway as a documentary, premiering the film in 2009.
The Public Theater will continue the 2011-2012 Public Forum season in February with a night of conversation and songs featuring Stew, Heidi Rodewald and Michael Cerveris. This Public Forum event will coincide with the new musical, The Total Bent, premiering in February as part of the Public Lab series. This intimate evening featuring three great singer-songwriters will take place on Monday, February 27 at 9:30 p.m. at Joe's Pub. Member tickets, priced at $15, are on sale now. Single tickets, priced at $20, go on sale Thursday, January 26.
The Sundance Institute Theatre Program has begun the 2012 Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation. The 13th annual writing colony at the 20,000-acre working cattle ranch outside of Sheridan, Wyo. takes place through February 24 and provides a supportive environment for artists to create new work and receive guidance and reactions to it at an early stage.
The Public Theater announced new February dates today for THE TOTAL BENT by Stew and Heidi Rodewald and directed by Joanna Settle. The shift in dates for this Public Lab production is due to an unforeseen construction-related delay that prevented the show from getting into the theater on the scheduled start date. The Public Theater's building renovation has been underway since fall 2008 and is expected to be completed on time this summer.
Happy February!! Eager to get a jump start on booking up your calendar for the month? Since no one can be everywhere at once, here are my official BroadwayGirlNYC picks for the month of February.
Lincoln Center will celebrate the 25th birthday of New York's tirelessly inventive new music institution Bang on a Can with musical fireworks in an extraordinary three-part program that will include a U.S. and a New York premiere on Saturday, April 28, at 7 PM in Alice Tully Hall.
The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) will present post-show discussions following select performances of the Public Lab production, TITUS ANDRONICUS, directed by Michael Sexton. The Public Lab Thursday Night Speaker Series for TITUS ANDRONICUS will be held following the Thursday, December 8 and Thursday, December 15 performances and consist of engaging conversations with notable panelists. Tickets are $15 for all performances and include free admission to the post-show discussions. TITUS ANDRONICUS begins previews on Tuesday, November 29 and runs through Sunday, December 18.
The Public Theater announced today that Patrick Willingham, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Man Productions, has been appointed the new Executive Director of The Public Theater, beginning November 28, 2011. After a thorough nationwide search, led by Chairman of the Board Warren Spector, Board Member Andi Bernstein, and Albert Hall and Associates, Willingham will join Artistic Director Oskar Eustis in running the award-winning Public Theater. The new partnership will focus on continuing the mission and extensive programming of The Public Theater while strengthening the organization for sustainability and future growth.
In October 1998, Joe's Pub opened at the Public Theatre near Astor Place in New York City. Thirteen years later, it's an institution -- and this week it opened again.
Just about every artist or creative type struggles with their home situation. It's truly a rare thing when your family actually nurtures your abilities rather than points you toward something more practical, or rather, something you can supposedly make a living doing ( I know mine didn't exactly support my acting aspirations). So, it's not uncommon for them to want to leave the nest and seek out like minded individuals who also possess their creative drive and spark. In PASSING STRANGE, playwright, composer and lyricist Stew (aka Mark Stewart, who shares composing credit with Heidi Rodewald) narrates a fictionalized account of his own experiences searching for some kind of reality he could identify with, and while it may be necessary to take the journey, sometimes the answers are really inside of you the whole time. This production by New Line Theatre provides a passionate experience, emboldened by excellent performances and top notch direction, and driven by superb work from the musicians playing the tuneful score.
New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111.
New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.
The artists and Creative Advisors selected for the second Sundance Institute Theatre Lab on Manda will soon be traveling to the island off the coast of Kenya in East Africa.
