The Strangers of 'Passing Strange' Part 1

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 2 HERE!

Eugene Lovendusky: Congratulations to you all! You've got Opening Night just around the corner… How are you guys feeling?

Daniel Breaker: We're just excited to start, I think! I'm almost ready to explode. I want a crowd! Unlike other shows, this one really depends on how the crowd feels.

Rebecca Naomi Jones: It's been living with us and in our bodies for so long now, we're ready to get back into the groove.

Eugene: Where does each of your characters fit into the story?

Eisa Davis: I play Mother. On the one-hand, I do play a character that actually goes through the entire show as one character (unlike some others on-stage), but I'm also myself up there. I'm kind of in the character and also in moments when I'm between scenes. The show is not a "fourth-wall show." Where we fit in? Well, I'm the whole reason the play takes place! [laughs] Because I'm the mother of the character of "Youth" of whom we follow – I gave birth to him. I'm also on the side-lines of the show, checking in. He is trying separate from me – which is what all children have to do to become themselves.  I'm a backboard that he bounces off of and rolls out into the world.

Daniel: I play Youth. He doesn't have a name because he is the Everyman and the essence of youth. Something that is exciting for some people is that we've brought in lots of different experiences of what it means to be young. We've heard stories from Stew and the people he came across in Europe, and I add a little of my flavor to it. With all those combinations we have Youth as an idea, not necessarily as a real being, but as a gesture.

Rebecca: I play Stewardess #2. [laughs] I have such lines as "La la la la." And besides that I play three women in this kid's life who mirror the kind of relationship that he has set out for himself and the world. I play Sherry, a young punk-rock bad-girl chick in high school who is sort of struggling to find a way to make her mark.  And I play a white Dutch person in Amsterdam named Renata who runs a café and welcomes Youth into a world of Europe and sex and drugs. And then I play a woman named Desi who is a Berliner who is a leader of a gang who turns the kid's world upside-down.

Chad Goodridge: I play a number of roles; much less than I used to play (and I'm not mad about that!) [laughs] I play a Reverend in the church where the Youth finds something about how music plays in his life. I play a friend, Terry, whom shows the difference between who goes for what they want and who settles.  I play Christophe who is in Amsterdam (and he's also a favorite of mine). He's a philosophy professor who can turn a trick, an open-minded and open-hearted guy. Then I play Hugo in Berlin who is part of a socialist group and is very strong about how he should live his life.

Stew: I'm the singing guide to the play with songs and text. Along with Heidi Rodewald and Annie Dorsen we were the team who came up with this. I wrote it, then I put it on the table, and we piece it together. I come from a very female-dominated family and I'm very comfortable working with women. I like having women at the table literally and figuratively. As a man, I feel like I'm blocked in some ways where the women I work with haven't been. I give my vision and then my vision is up for critique. When we talk about the way we are on-stage, we function like a music group – we have to be in the room and doing it in front of people. We listen to each other. Everything that has been written in the play has been written for them. For me, it was all about their voices – because I'm a musician. I just heard Eisa speak three words and I put a star next to her name. It didn't mean "I'm thinking about it"… it meant "She's in." Annie deals with visuals but for me it's all about sound.

Eugene: What a family tree! Passing Strange is a huge conglomeration of narrative… but how much of the story is based on truth?

Stew: I like to call this "autobiographical fiction" meaning that I can point to aspects of my life that relate to it – but ultimately you have to make things up to tell the truth.  But we've all added things based on what we all feel and have said. I've put things into the script based on other people's lives. We all know a lot about each other's stories. It's the same damn story. Everybody freaks their mom out when they say "I'm going to be an artist." Everybody has an issue with love versus career. It's all true.

Eugene: Do you hope the audience will connect with their life stories, too?

Stew: One thing that everybody will connect with is that everybody has a mother. Everybody had a lover that challenged them to feel more. Everybody has had a friend Regardless of all the politics and the rock-bands and the performance-art… We're trying to have it all. We're trying to have a really cool, smart and wild play but we're also trying to hit people where it hurts.

Daniel: We also want to have a lot of fun each night! That's where it starts.

Stew: Hell yeah! Theatre people know when you're having a good time. You recognize that with us immediately. It's all these people alive on stage!

Passing Strange stars de'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew.  Directed by Annie Dorsen.

Passing Strange features a book by Stew; lyrics by Stew; music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald; written in collaboration with Annie Dorsen.  Choreographed by Karole Armitage. The creative team includes David Korins (sets), Elizabeth Hope Clancy (costumes), Kevin Adams (lighting) and Tom Morse (sound).

Passing Strange performs Tuesdays at 7PM; Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8PM; Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2PM; and Sundays at 3PM at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th St). For tickets ($26.50 - $111.50) visit www.Telecharge.com or for more information visit the show's new interactive website at www.PassingStrangeOnBroadway.com 

Photos courtesy PassingStrangeOnBroadway.com (top-bottom): Stew; Daniel Breaker; Rebecca Naomi Jones