Details have been announced for Spike Lee's forthcoming film version of the Broadway musical Passing Strange. On July 19, the matinee and evening performances of the show will be filmed in front of a live audience at the Belasco Theatre. Thereafter, the musical will be filmed two additional times without an audience. Tickets for the July 19 performance are available to the general public.
Lee has been a fan of Passing Strange since he first saw the off-Broadway production at the Public Theater last year and has attended the show on a number of occasions since it moved to the Belasco. He will co-produce the film version with Steve Klein, one of the show's Broadway producers.
According to Klein, he and Lee are considering whether to debut the film on a premium cable station such as HBO or Showtime or as a theatrical release. "Conventional wisdom suggests that filmed theatrical events should avoid being released in movie theaters," he said in a statement, adding that Passing Strange may be an exception. "With its rock concert energy, compelling performances, multi-colored light wall in lieu of a traditional set, and Spike Lee behind the camera, [it] will have more than enough visual dynamics to play in theaters if we decide to go in that direction."
With book and lyrics by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange is directed and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen. The cast features Tony nominee de'Adre Aziza, Tony nominee Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew, himself, as well as musicians Rodewald, Jon Spurney, Chrisian Cassan and Christian Gibbs.
