Passing Strange?

[coolkid11776]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 9:05am

I'm thinking about going to see Passing strange. However I had a question I've heard it's like Spring Awakening with a rock score. Is the story the same type of thing as SA? The reason I ask is bc I want to take my dad and he hated SA so if it's like SA he won't like it.

Thanks
Also is there nudity?

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 9:07am

"Is the story the same type of thing as SA?"

No.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 9:08am

No gay.
No nudity.

Your dad should be fine.

Updated On: 3/10/08 at 09:08 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 9:09am

PASSING STRANGE is a really cool bunch of songs backing up a very trite story about an artist finding himself.

[mllk]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:02am

is there a student rush for this?
thnx

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:11am

$25 tickets for people 25 and under.

[burntplains]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:32am

I really disliked this show.. do your research before you actually fork over your hard earned money to see it...

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:36am

Burnt, what didn't you like about it?

[burntplains]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:41am

um, well I tried to go in with an open mind. I didn't hate the music but I honestly was bored to tears the entire show. I just didn't feel for the characters. I left the theatre thinking "what the hell was that".

just not my cup of tea

[mllk]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:43am

Thanks for the reply Wanna Be
how strict are they on checking IDs? i'm 26 and I would like to get rush tix for this show

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 10:51am

Burnt, yeah, I had much the same reaction. I wanted to like it, but it bored me pretty thoroughly, too. Such a trite story, and easy two-dimensional characters. And easy satiric targets, I started to feel bad for the drag queens and performance artists that the show goes to such desperate lengths to make such fun of.

[aliciag]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 12:46pm

I think they are pretty strict about the age. They check specifically on your id to make sure you are under 25.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 1:49pm

I saw this show on Saturday. I admired that is was something of a risk and a departure from the traditional fare with intelligent lyrics but thought the story was trite and that Stew needed to step aside and let the rest of the cast do their thing. I applaud skillful use of narration (think Drowsy Chaperone) but this was overkill in that the audience was told how to feel and how to react by the narrator who happened to "sing" most of the "score." It became Stew's show. I have never seen his concerts (and don't intend to- ever), but it was all very self-promoting.

I didn't admire the digs at musical theatre either. I like the fact that it was a departure but the audience did not need to be told that this was different.

Like Little Sally once said, nothing can kill a show like too much exposition. This was one of the fundamental problems with the show.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:06pm

How is PASSING STRANGE a risk and a departure?

[Rotel1026]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:15pm

Did coolkid get a new screenname?

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:45pm

Where is this self-promotion people keep talking about? When was the audience told by the narrator how to feel? I never got any of that.

I've kinda noticed a pattern..people who liked PASSING STRANGE disliked NEXT TO NORMAL and vice versa..or they just disliked both shows all together.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 2:51pm

KC, even though I am a huge fan of the show, I was interested in your comments.
However, as I perceive the show, it IS Stew's show, mostly autobiographical, and Stew serves not just as a "narrator", but as a fully defined "adult" Stew, participating in, and commenting on the "younger" Stew's foibles. It's so interesting to me, because sometimes we go through life WITHOUT wisdom and "woulda, shoulda, couda" ruminations. I think Stew is the structural and cohesive element in the story and his optimistic/cynicism is what makes the show really, really funny in an endearing way. I think his 2 hour non stop performance on stage is highly underestimated. He acts, sings, writes, provides insight, and humor. Yes, I believe that's superb acting! When it seems easy and polished, you know it's hard to do. His "parodying" and subtle mockery of various musical forms, his own life experiences, (and the usually fearful connotations that come from NOT questioning the racial and youth stereotypes), I feel are a refreshing breath of air. (ie: the song "The Black Boy") I DO respect the fact that it's not your cup of tea, and as Stew very poignantly and sometimes loudly points out at the end of the show: "Yeah, It's All Riiiiiiiight!!! To his mother, who will ALWAYS understand!! "Life is something only Art can correct".

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 3:31pm

I believe I said "something of a risk and departure." That is different from "risk and departure." The departure is that it did not blend showtune traditions with music one would find on the radio like you would see at most rock influenced musicals. The risk is that the target audience is clearly not the ones who usually attend a Broadway show. But no, it is not a complete risk and departure.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 3:37pm

Even "something of a risk and departure" is a stretch, but okay. I really hope somebody gives this Stew guy a more interesting story to tell next time. I haven't been this bored in a theater in a long while.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 3:40pm

Wish you could give us more of an opinion, Roscoe. After all your comments , I'm unsure if you liked it or not.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 3:52pm

I was pretty thoroughly bored by PASSING STRANGE. The story is trite and uninteresting. The music is mostly interesting and certainly well-performed, but can't do much to make up for the gaping hole where the book should be. It started to feel like some musician's idea of how a play should be written.

I got sick of Stew's ceaseless driving home of each and every blatantly obvious dramatic point that any sentient 4th grader would have grasped without his assistance, and his smug "too cool for musical theatre" attitude started to piss me off.

Get Stew a decent plot and a good librettist, and a director sharp enough to keep Stew offstage where he belongs, wonders could be worked. As it is, this is one of the most self-indulgent things I've ever seen, a serious case of Delusions of Relevance.

Again, I'll be in the minority on this. My partner found the whole business very moving.

Updated On: 3/10/08 at 03:52 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 4:02pm

I've kinda noticed a pattern..people who liked PASSING STRANGE disliked NEXT TO NORMAL and vice versa..or they just disliked both shows all together.

^^^^^

Is that supposed to mean? People who only like traditional showtunes? lol!

J*

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 4:04pm

BTW- I saw coolkid original posting..and I was like laughing (not in a mean way, okay?)

Why we associated rock music or innovative musical with nudity? or Spring Awakening lol!

J*
Updated On: 3/10/08 at 04:04 PM

[dave1606]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 4:04pm

i think i break your patter jay. I loved them both!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 3/10/08 at 4:05pm

Count me firmly in the Disliked Both Shows category. I did prefer PASSING STRANGE, though.