Stew

Highlighted Play: Passing Strange

Synopsis:

A rock musical that breaks and mocks all of the conventions of traditional Broadway musicals, Passing Strange tells a story of a creative young African-American man searching for himself and a place to fit in. The early 1980s is the time and Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Berlin are the settings for Youth’s journey to self discovery. Using rock, punk, gospel, and soaring ballads, Stew, who is the play’s narrator, gets into the heart of his characters and exposes them as true three dimensional flawed individuals. From the nagging yet loving mother who reminds her son that “family is important” to the flamboyant Mr. Franklin who dreams of leaving the confines of his father’s prison-like church, Stew’s vivid characters are honest and real. The use of bright colorful neon lighting and a live band on stage add a concert-like atmosphere to the play; Passing Strange feels strange at first, but the play quickly makes one feel at home with its universal themes of identity, family, and race. The Youth of the musical question everything. He refuses to fit in. Once he feels comfortable, Youth quickly packs his bags and leaves. Even “paradise is a bore” for the young antihero who is always on the move, looking for artistic inspiration. The heart of Passing Strange is the artist and the process of creating his art. Love is not real; family and traditions are not real; God is not real; even one’s race is not real. Only art is real. In the end, Youth is a musician and his “place” is in his songs.

How the play can be used:

This is a perfect play to teach older teenagers who are questioning their place in this confusing world. Youth and Stew are relatable characters whose angst and fears mirror what a lot teenagers feel. Youth’s precarious journey is all too familiar and his confusion speaks volumes to students. “What’s inside is just a lie," Mr. Venus, a performance artist, reminds the play's Youth.

Sample Audience

Passing Strange contains strong language, drug use, sexual references, and deals with adult situations. It is best taught at the college level or to seniors in high school.

Sample Activity

Throughout the musical Passing Strange, Youth is searching for "the real" in a world that he believes is phony and hypocritical.

1. After students have read and seen the play on YouTube, have them reflect on what is "real" in their lives. Avoid guiding them to any answers. If students ask you what the question means, just have them think about about Youth's pursuit of "the real" in his journey.

2. Have students then write three things/people/situations that are real and have them explain why they are real by giving specific examples. Give students about fifteen minutes so they can have time to think about their "real." Try not to give them your own examples; have students think about "the real" in the musical.

3. After they are finished reflecting and writing, have them share with a partner for about six minutes.

4. Then have a whole class share. Have students make connection to Youth's changing definition of "the real" and ask them , "Does 'the real' exists? Or is it just social construct?"

5. Keep students focused on "the real" and why it is so important in the musical Passing Strange.

Possible discussion questions

1. How is Passing Strange a musical about race? What are the scenes where Youth encounters racism?

2. How does the concept of “passing” run throughout the entire play? (Example: passing through cities, time, people, identities.)

3. How does the music and lyrics drive the story forward? Examples?

4. How is Passing Strange not a traditional musical? In fact, how does Stew mock Broadway musicals?

5. How do the Europeans view Youth? Explain “Black Exotics”? (Look closely at the musical number “The Black One.”) Why does Youth play into the European’s racist views? What is Youth trying to accomplish?76.

6. What are Stew’s comments on religion?

7. What are Stew’s comments on traditional and nontraditional families?

8. How do you feel about Youth’s treatment of the women in his life?

9. How is Youth trying to fit in? How is he an outsider? How is he trying to pass for Black? How is he passing for White?

10. Discuss the Narrator’s relationship with Youth? Analyze the “temporal double consciousness” of the play? Look at the past (1980s) and present (2008) in the musical.

11. Does Youth learn a lesson at the end of the play? Does he mature? Does he grow as a person?

Annotated Play

The Total Bent

Synopsis:

Like Passing Strange, this musical criticizes the hypocrisy of religion and how family relationships can often be strained. Our parents’ dreams for us are not ours; our parents’ beliefs can come into conflict with our own. Stew relies heavily on gospel (call and response), soul, funk, early rock music to tell his story of a musically gifted gay young man who is also trying to find his place in a complex world. Joe Roy, a famous television gospel singer and evangelical minister, is a success because of his son’s musical compositions and lyrics. Marty, the son, wants to break away from his father’s expectations and find success on his own. Marty is very similar to the Youth in Passing Strange—questioning everything and everyone. Again, art is the real in this play.

How can the play be used:

Students will have a harder time connecting to The Total Bent because the play spends too much time focused on the seedy world of the music business. Students, however, will connect with Marty’s need to free him from the hypocrisy of his father and religion.

Comprehensive List of Plays

Passing Strange (2007)

The Total Bent (2016)

Discography

(with The Negro Problem)

Post Minstrel Problem (1997)

Joys & Concerns (1999)

Welcome Black (2002)

Blackboot (2003)

Making It (2012)

(as Stew)

Guest Host (2000)

Sweet boot (2001)

The Naked Dutch Painter... and Other Songs (2002)

Something Deeper than These Changes (2003)

"Gary's Song" (2003)

Additional Resources

Bibliography

Feagin, Joe R., and Melvin P. Sikes. “How Black Students Cope with Racism on White Campuses.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, vol. 8, July 1995, pp. 91–97.

Harrison, Paul Carter. “(Re) Branding Black Theatre.” Black Renaissance, vol. 13, no. 2/3, Oct. 2013, pp. 70–79.

Isherwood, Charles. “Look Back in Chagrin: A Rocker’s Progress.” The New York Times, 15 May 2007.

Lewis, Judith. “Passing Strange: The LA Problem.” LA Weekly, 12 Apr. 2008.

Lee, Spike, director. Passing Strange . IFC Films, 2008.

“Passing Strange: a Real Rock Musical.” NPR All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 28 Feb. 2008, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87767899.

Roost, Alisa. “‘Remove Your Mask’: Character Psychology in Introspective Musical Theatre – Sondheim’s , LaChiusa’s , and Stew’s.” Modern Drama, vol. 57, no. 2, June 2014, pp. 229–251.

Valencia, Brian D. “What a Crescendo—Not to Be Missed: Loudness on the Musical Stage.” Studies in Musical Theatre, vol. 10, no. 1, 2016, pp. 7–17., Accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

Washington, Bryan R. The Politics of Exile: Ideology in Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Baldwin. Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1995.

Wald, Gayle. “Passing Strange and Post-Civil Rights Blackness.” Humanities Research , vol. 16, no. 1, 2010, pp. 11–33.

Woolf, Brandon. “Negotiating the ‘Negro Problem’: Stew’s Passing (Made) Strange.” Theatre Journal, vol. 62, no. 2, May 2010, pp. 191–207.

Web page compiled by Afonso Albergaria (2018)