Spike Lee to Film Broadway's Passing Strange
By Andrew Gans
and Adam Hetrick
03 Jul 2008
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Passing Strange creator Stew.
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| photo by Michal Daniel | Two-time Academy Award nominee Spike Lee will film three performances of the new Broadway musical Passing Strange, according to a report on the Entertainment Weekly website.
EW.com says that the famed writer-director will film the Tony-winning musical at the Belasco Theatre over a weekend later this month. Two performances will be filmed with an audience present and one without.
The filming, according to EW.com, will be financed by the producers of the new musical. The final version will likely be aired on cable television.
Spike Lee was nominated for Academy Awards for "4 Little Girls" (Best Documentary, Features — with Samuel D. Pollard) and "Do the Right Thing" (Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen). Among his numerous directorial credits are "Do the Right Thing," "He Got Game," "She Hate Me," "Inside Man," "Miracle's Boys," "Bamboozled," "Summer of Sam," "She's Gotta Have It," "Jungle Fever," "4 Little Girls," "Mo Better Blues," "Clockers," "School Daze" and "Malcolm X."
There has been no official announcement about the filming.
Passing Strange features a Tony Award-winning book and lyrics by Stew and music by Stew and his longtime musical partner Heidi Rodewald of The Negro Problem.
The musical – which opened on Broadway Feb. 28 following a critically lauded run at the Public Theater last summer – features the original Public cast, including Stew, de'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge and Rebecca Naomi Jones.
Passing Strange co-author Rodewald heads an onstage band that features Stew as well as Jon Spurney, Christian Cassan and Christian Gibbs.
The semi-autobiographical musical incorporates elements of Stew's life to tell the story of a young black bohemian who leaves behind his middle-class, church-ruled upbringing in Los Angeles to travel abroad in search of his artistic and personal identity.
Passing Strange features choreography by Karole Armitage, scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Elizabeth Hope Clancy and lighting design by Kevin Adams.
Passing Strange's Broadway venture is produced by the Shubert Organization, Inc., Elizabeth Ireland McCann, the Public Theater and Berkeley Rep.
Tickets are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.TeleCharge.com. The Belasco Theatre is located at 111 West 44th Street in Manhattan.
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