Rock musical 'Passing Strange' reaches L.A. after 22-year wait

Pasadena Playhouse will stage the first Los Angeles production of the rock musical 'Passing Strange' this year. The show, which won the Tony Award for best musical in 2008, has been performed in New York, London, and various cities across Europe and South America, but had never been produced in Southern California.

Zhailon Levingston, who won a Tony for directing 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' earlier this year, initiated the project. He met with Pasadena Playhouse leadership and identified the show as a priority for the region. The production stars Ty Taylor, a singer with the band Vintage Trouble, in the lead role. Taylor performs as the Narrator, a character based on the musical's co-creator, Stew. The cast also includes Brittany Campbell, Britton Smith, and Saycon Sengbloh.

Stew and his creative partner, Heidi Rodewald, will not perform in the Pasadena run. They appeared on stage for every performance of the show's original Broadway and pre-Broadway engagements. Colman Domingo, who played a supporting role before his film career took off, also will not be in the production. All their original performances are available in the Spike Lee-directed film version of the musical.

The show began development in the early 2000s when Stew and Rodewald were members of the Los Angeles band the Negro Problem. They moved to New York around 2000 to continue working. A preliminary cabaret version of the material, titled 'Travelogue,' was performed at Joe's Pub and other clubs in New York. The Public Theater approached the duo to expand the project into a full theater piece. They initially declined three times before accepting the commission.

Stew stated that the pair did not view Broadway as a primary aspiration. 'We weren't trying to please people. We were just pleasing ourselves,' Rodewald said. They noted that the theater industry provided structured support and workshops that the record industry no longer offered to independent artists. Stew recalled that their second album was technically funded by a $10,000 advance from DreamWorks, which they used to self-produce the record instead of making demos for the label.

The creators observed that the show introduced a live band to the stage and a specific lighting style that influenced subsequent productions. Stew described the work as '3 a.m. music,' meaning it appeals to a specific, dedicated audience rather than the mainstream. He noted that while the show changed certain theatrical conventions, he still believes many musicals remain 'pretty un-rocking and kind of shallow.'

The Pasadena production arrives 22 years after the show's Broadway premiere. Stew and Rodewald have maintained a complex relationship with the Los Angeles press and music scene since moving east. They acknowledged that their success in New York allowed them to sustain a career that was difficult to achieve in their hometown.