Stage Review

Passing Strange (2008)

Reviewed by Adrienne Day | Apr 10, 2008

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EW's GRADE

Details Opening Date: Feb 08, 2008; Lead Performance: Stew; Writers: Heidi Rodewald, Stew; Director: Annie Dorsen; Genre: Musical

Image credit: Carol Rosegg

PASSING STRANGE (l-r) Daniel Breaker, (background) Rebecca Naomi Jones, Colman Domingo, (background) Chad Goodridge

This genre-busting musical pulses with the energy of a rock concert. Singer-songwriter Stew narrates his largely autobiographical story as his onstage alter ego (a phenomenal Daniel Breaker) evolves from a church-ified L.A. youth to a bohemian squatter in Europe, exploring sex, drugs, and his racial identity along the way. With an excellent seven-member cast and a score (by Stew and bassist/backup singer Heidi Rodewald) that fuses power pop, literate indie rock, and gospel, Passing Strange is a mesmerizing experience that probes what it means to be gloriously, sometimes painfully, alive. (212-239-6200) A

Originally posted Mar 11, 2008 Published in issue #983 Mar 21, 2008 Order article reprints

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