About us > Past productions > 2006/07 > Passing Strange

book and lyrics by stew
music by stew / heidi rodewald
created in collaboration with and directed by annie dorsen
choreography by karole armitage
in association with the public theater
main season | thrust stage
october 19–december 3, 2006
world premiere

Running time: 2 hours and 40 minutes,
including one 15 minute intermission

the show

The world premiere of Passing Strange takes musical theatre on a whole new trip. It’s the heartfelt and hilarious story of a young bohemian who charts a course for “the real” through sex, drugs and rock and roll. Loaded with soulful lyrics and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity.

the artist

Stew is Entertainment Weekly’s two-time artist of the year. The Village Voice says his unique sound, dubbed Afro-Baroque cabaret, is “smart and tart, fussy and funny,” while the LA Times describes his lyrics as “gorgeous, deeply-felt, wildly sophisticated and at times hilarious.”