Hit the chord and shout… then the next note
Possible soundtrack for this post: Death, the band.
I've been struggling with what to write about Passing Strange, which friend Annie and I saw recently at the Studio Theatre. How I felt about the musical was obvious. It was terrific. It was unorthodox and legit in rocking, and it took my breath away at one point. But I haven't figured out what to write here that doesn't give away the plot or its impact.
But with the show extended, again, for the last time, I have to write something that may cause you to go see it. So, I want you to look at the power above. You see that guy in the poster? That's how Passing Strange feels. Now, look at the picture below. That's the upper lounge at the Studio Theatre. Color, metal, ease, and vents mixing the room.
The basic plot of the musical is an early '70s black kid who desperately wants to be a punk rocker. The journey goes from there. Many of the coming-of-age steps you've seen before. How the passion and wisdom arrive fresh are where the show's greatness lies. The success salutes its Broadway creator, Stew, and the current cast and crew, who take Stew's hyper-personal story and tell it well without him. No easy task.
Jahi Kearse is in Stew's shoes as narrator, and he grows on you as he works. The strength of a narrator is underrated. Seeing Our Town last year taught me as much. Beyond him, the players showcase our city's dramatic talent pool like nothing I've seen. And the band in the house is tight and loud. The gerund here — the i-n-g of the title — is earned. Strange are our identities, mixing rooms, but we still work with them.
Update between writing and publishing: Stew loves the production too. About Kearse: "All the back-handed compliments about how it could only work with that guy in the red shirt as Narrator have been put to rest by the dynamic Mr. Kearse. Because he is an artist, he knew it was all about making the experience real for HIM and only by doing that could he make it real for us. And now it’s up to the next brother (or sister!) to make it real again. The baton has been passed… but hold tight cuz it’s sweaty." More here, on the band and production.
