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Great Performances

Passing Strange

  • Episode aired Jan 16, 2009
  • 2h 15m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
452
YOUR RATING
S38.E7
  • S38
  • E7
All episodes
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  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Trailer for this musical
Play trailer2:33
1 Video
Photos
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Musical

A young black artist leaves his Los Angeles digs and travels to Europe to find himself. A theatrical stage production of the original Broadway musical.A young black artist leaves his Los Angeles digs and travels to Europe to find himself. A theatrical stage production of the original Broadway musical.A young black artist leaves his Los Angeles digs and travels to Europe to find himself. A theatrical stage production of the original Broadway musical.

IMDb RATING
8.1/10
452
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Spike Lee
  • Writer
    • Stew(book)
  • Stars
    • De'Adre Aziza
    • Daniel Breaker
    • Eisa Davis
Top credits
  • Director
    • Spike Lee
  • Writer
    • Stew(book)
  • Stars
    • De'Adre Aziza
    • Daniel Breaker
    • Eisa Davis
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Passing Strange
    Trailer 2:33
    Passing Strange

    Photos

    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    De'Adre Aziza
    De'Adre Aziza
    • Edwinaas Edwina…
    Daniel Breaker
    Daniel Breaker
    • Youthas Youth
    Eisa Davis
    Eisa Davis
    • Motheras Mother
    Colman Domingo
    Colman Domingo
    • Mr.Franklinas Mr.Franklin…
    Chad Goodridge
    Chad Goodridge
    • Rev. Jonesas Rev. Jones…
    Rebecca Naomi Jones
    Rebecca Naomi Jones
    • Sherryas Sherry…
    Karen Pittman
    Karen Pittman
    • Mom - Understudyas Mom - Understudy
    Stew
    • Narratoras Narrator
    • Director
      • Spike Lee
    • Writer
      • Stew(book)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Storyline

    Edit
    A young black artist leaves his Los Angeles digs and travels to Europe to find himself. A theatrical stage production of the original Broadway musical.
    • guitar
    • theater
    • band
    • rock 'n' roll
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Music
      • Musical
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The original Broadway production of "Passing Strange" opened at the Belasco Theater in New York on Feb. 28, 2008, ran for 165 performances and was nominated for the 2008 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Score and won for the Best Book. Colman Domingo, De'Adre Aziza, Chad Goodridge, Stew and Daniel Breaker recreated their roles in this filmed production. Daniel Breaker and De'Adre Aziza received Tony Award nomination for acting as did Stew who had four nominations and one win (Best Book).

    User reviews10

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    refreshing, exhilarating and very special
    Thanks to Spike Lee, we are finally able to experience one of the very best musicals of the last few years on screen and what a helluva of experience this is. Tony-winning Passing Strange is not your ordinary rock musical as it uses a wide variety of music styles exploring such genres as soulful blues, energetic punk rock, brutal new wave, gospel and cabaret. The force behind this spectacle is Stew, the musician who wrote and co-arranged the whole performance. He is also the narrator displaying his impressive skills especially in singing. Overall, what an amazing guy he is! His partly autobiographical story is universally relatable depicting a young man's struggle for artistic fulfillment. As the main character travels to Europe, Stew spices it with brilliant cultural satire deeply ingrained in history. He steers clear of being oversentimental and often provides us with auto-irony, which is crucial when you want to make people laugh. He even goes as far as to comment on his role as an artist/creator and nails it perfectly building to an ecstatic finale filled with uncontrolled joy. Besides, Passing Strange features superb performances from every single member of the extremely talented cast. Some of them had a difficult task channeling many characters like Colman Domingo, particularly incredible as controversial musician Mr. Venus. I couldn't resist the charms of De'Adre Aziza and Rebecca Jones who appeared to be extremely versatile actresses as well as fabulous singers. Daniel Breaker in a leading role also delivered top-notch performance encompassing the whole range of emotions. Spike Lee's cutting is fast, dynamic and hyper-kinetic to the point that the filmed performance resembles an actual movie. The camera is always in the right place frequently showing sweat on the faces of ideally synchronized performers. To conclude, Passing Strange ranks among the most unforgettable movies I've ever seen. It's refreshing, exhilarating and very special for me.
    helpful•6
    1
    • manicman84
    • Mar 22, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 16, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Belasco Theater - 111 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
      • ARTE
      • ARTE
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 15 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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