'Passing Strange' to Celebrate Album Release On May 27

The eagerly anticipated original cast recording of the Broadway musical PASSING STRANGE - which was recorded in front of a live audience at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) last month - will be released as the first-ever iTunes "Digital Exlusive Release" on Tuesday, May 27th. There will be a Brick and Mortar retail availability of the original cast album of PASSING STRANGE in July, 2008. Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records President Kurt Deutsch and Bill Rosenfield are Executive Producers for the original cast recording, and PASSING STRANGE co-creators Stew and Heidi Rodewald have produced the CD.

To celebrate, the PASSING STRANGE cast, crew and creative team will throw a listening party, which will be free and open to the public, at Saju Bistro (120 West 44th Street, directly across from the Belasco Theater) on Tuesday, May 27 at 9:30pm (directly following the 7:00pm performance of PASSING STRANGE).

PASSING STRANGE was recently the recipient of several awards, including the New York Drama Critic's Circle Awards (Best Musical), three Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music for Stew and Heidi Rodewald &Outstanding Lyrics for Stew); two Village Voice Obie Award (for Best New Theatre Piece &for the PASSING STRANGE acting ensemble - de'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Stew); and two Theatre World Awards (for de'Adre Aziza and Daniel Breaker).

On Tuesday, May 13 PASSING STRANGE received 7 Tony Award nominations: Best Musical; Best Book of a Musical (Stew); Best Original Score (music Stew and Heidi Rodewald, lyrics Stew); Best Actor in a Musical (Stew); Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daniel Breaker); Best Featured Actress in a Musical (de'Adre Aziza); Best Orchestrations (Stew and Heidi Rodewald).

With book and lyrics by the popular singer/songwriter Stew, and with music by Stew and his longtime musical partner Heidi Rodewald, PASSING STRANGE is directed by and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen. PASSING STRANGE is the first musical by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, best-known for their rock-and-roll music since 2000 when they formed the band The Negro Problem, also known as STEW, promptly winning two Album of the Year Awards from Entertainment Weekly for their acclaimed works "Guest Host" and "The Naked Dutch Painter."

PASSING STRANGE is the tale of a young black musician on a journey of escape and exploration: leaving the confines of his middle-class, church-reared youth in south central L.A., the further he travels the more he discovers the voyage within is the one that counts.

The PASSING STRANGE recording features the original Broadway cast: de'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew, himself, as well as the band of musicians, who join the cast on-stage at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) each night, including the musical's co-creator Heidi Rodewald, along with Jon Spurney, Christian Cassan, Christian Gibbs and Stew.

PASSING STRANGE opened on Broadway on February 28, 2008 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) to such rave reviews as: "Bursting at the seams with melodic songs," (New York Times), PASSING STRANGE "is truly unlike anything you've seen on Broadway" (USA Today).  "Call it a rock concert with a story to tell.  Call it whatever you want, really.  I'll just call it wonderful" (New York Times).  PASSING STRANGE "taps into the energy of rock with high-voltage enthusiasm," (Associated Press), and is a "brilliant work" (The New Yorker). "From 'Hair' to 'Rent' to 'Spring Awakening,' composers have sought to reinvigorate musical theater by harnessing the energy and raw expressiveness of rock.  But PASSING STRANGE, the defiantly unclassifiable musical by Los Angeles singer-songwriter Stew is a magical mystery tour." (Variety)

PASSING STRANGE performs Tuesdays at 7pm; Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8pm; Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2pm; and Sundays at 3pm at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) on Broadway. Tickets are priced $111.50 - $66.50 - $36.50 - $26.50, and are available through Tele-charge at www.TeleCharge.com, or by calling 212-239-6200.

For additional information on PASSING STRANGE, visit www.PassingStrangeOnBroadway.com.

Sh-K-Boom Records and its imprint Ghostlight Records is a Grammy-nominated record label, a producer of recorded and live entertainment, and an interactive community at www.sh-k-boom.com, and www.ghostlightrecords.com.  Since being founded seven years ago by Kurt Deutsch and Sherie Rene Scott, Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight is the leading producer of Original Broadway and Off Broadway cast albums, and solo recordings by the new generation of Broadway stars and composers.  With over 50 albums in their catalogue, titles include: The Smash Broadway Hit Legally Blonde, Grammy and Tony Nominated Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Grammy nominated and Tony Winning The Drowsy Chaperone, Grammy nominated and Tony Winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the Grammy nominated all-star benefit recording of Hair for The Actors' Fund of America, as well as The Last 5 Years, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Bright Lights, Big City (with Patrick Wilson and Jesse L. Martin), and Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See and Bernarda Alba.  Solo Artists include: Patti LuPone, Billy Porter, Jason Robert Brown, Christine Ebersole, Adam Pascal (original star of Rent), Sherie Rene Scott (star of Aida and The Little Mermaid), and Kelli O'Hara's forthcoming debut solo album, Wonder in the World.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.