Passing Strange: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical

by Stew

The innovative new musical that won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Book and is soon to be a Spike Lee film.Þ Smashes Broadway clich©s with an electric guitar and the funniest libretto I can remember. ä ÊNew YorkÊÞPassing Strange was nominated for 7 Tony Awards and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Musical.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Musicals, School

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2008

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read and watched for class. So damn good.

[max theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it were any more real... it'd be fictional!

LOVE the rock opera concert vibe LOVE the commentary on feigning vulnerability in art to avoid vulnerability in life LOVE the obnoxious german communists. could take or leave the way every woman in this show exists to give the main character an emotional reaction, usually by having sex with him for no reason at all

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it's debatable if this show can work with anyone but the author himself at the center of it, as a piece unto itself, it contains some truly memorable music and lyrics and shows tremendous self-awareness as a touching exploration of a young artist's transition into the man he will one day be. Rendered with humor and pathos, the story of Stew's search for a self from the church of his childhood through the sex and drug experimentation of his early adulthood is one at once familiar and certainly one we've seen before, but also unique in the mainstream theater world for its focus on a young black man who does not necessarily meet the expectations that often come with that identity in 21st century America. While the relationship between Stew and his mother forms the core of the play, his various love interests and sets of friends are rendered with just enough detail to make them fun and interesting, if always in the service of defining the protagonist. It would be interesting to see if this show could work with an actor who wasn't Stew playing Stew, but assuming it did, this could definitely be a great opportunity for an ensemble cast and talented musicians, and in its initial form is certainly a challenging and exciting piece of post-modern musical theater.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember watching the filmed performance in high school and thinking I would love to read it. It took around a decade, but I finally I acquired a copy and did it.

It's a great show. It has some of the best music I have heard from Broadway, and the performances in the original cast are just phenomenal. The energy is palpable even through the camera. The book captures it pretty well, though it doesn't hurt that I have the film and album for reference. Even knowing what was coming, the ending still hit.

What surprised me a bit about this is how few stage directions there are. I struggle to think of any, though there are some line-reading suggestions here and there. It simultaneously makes me think the show was shaped for the original cast and also that there’re a lot of room for it to be shaped by others. I never really thought this could be done live without Stew, as it comes across so personal in the film, but after reading it, I think there might be hope that one day I could see it live. It's small, but it's there.

[Catalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The notion of love > real (focus on authenticity) is cool and I really like it. The play itself I liked a bit less. It was an interesting read though.
I also really liked the concept that vulnerability is required to get to love, especially in the context it is presented.

Quotes I found interesting:
* "You torture me with love when what I need is understanding"
* "Why are normal everyday things like sheer agony for you?"
* "...they taught me how to wear my body? Today I learned that even if its ugly, man, you gotta wear it like a gown."
song lyrics:
*"anyone who couldn't fit in for a living"
*"pain! ego! art!"

[Chris Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about Passing Strange? This has been the most important piece of theater in my development as a human being. That isn't an overstatement - it's the truth. I'm normally hyper-critical about theater, but I surrendered to this strange and beautiful play/performance art hybrid completely. In order to fully appreciate this beauty, it's necessary to surrender all expectations about what a play or musical is supposed to be. An interesting note is that I didn't like this at all when I first saw a clip from it on the Tony Awards a few years ago. I thought to myself: "what a mess!" I have never been more wrong. I am now annoying all my friends and family with my pleas for them to read the libretto, listen to the music, watch the Spike Lee-filmed movie of the musical (he took the performance and filmed it, so what you get is pretty much the show with no bells or whistles - it doesn't need them.)

A few of my favorite lines?
"What does this feeling mean to you? Both to be seen and to be seen through?"

"Why do you lie about who you are?"

"You know, love like that can't be measured anyway"

"Some day the chords of age will drown out the life you've been dreaming of and you'll be out on your ass and cursing, alas - your song was just passing for love"

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The emotions and nuances were lost on me when reading this in book format. However, once watching the play in English class, the emotion in the delivery of certain lines made deeper themes surface and allowed me to appreciate the content better.

[Kate Ly Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most moving play I've ever had the honor to see and read