Public Theater Moves Stew's Passing Strange to May '07

Passing Strange - by singer/songwriter and performance artist Stew and Heidi Rodewald, will have its premiere at the Public Theater next year.

Directed by and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen, with choreography by Karole Armitage, the show will begin previews May 1st with performances running though June 3rd. It was previously scheduled to begin previews on January 16th. Co-commissioned and co-produced with Berkeley Rep, where it recently concluded a successful initial run, Passing Strange will continue in development at The Public Theater through April.

"The world premiere of Passing Strange takes musical theatre on a whole new trip. Stew, a popular performer at Joe's Pub, was commissioned by The Public and Berkeley Rep to develop this moving and hilarious story of a young black bohemian in search of self and home who charts a course for 'the real' through sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Loaded with soulful lyrics, packed with political irony, and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin, and beyond. It's a quirky journey from L.A. to authenticity, crossing boundaries of place, identity, and theatrical convention on the way," Public Theater notes state.

"Stew's unique sound has been dubbed Afro-Baroque cabaret, and Entertainment Weekly has twice named his CDs Album of the Year. His songs have won praise for their hook-filled melodies, taut poetic narratives, incisive portraits, and sardonic sense of humor."

Passing Strange will feature scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Annie Smart, lighting design by Kevin Adams and sound design by Jake Rodriguez.

Stew is the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, founder, and leader of The Negro Problem, a pop rock combo from Los Angeles. The group's albums "Post Minstrel Syndrome" and J"oys & Concerns" garnered nationwide acclaim and numerous accolades. In 2000, Stew and Rodewald co-founded the Afro-Baroque cabaret ensemble known as Stew, and their CD Guest Host was named Album of the Year by Entertainment Weekly. Stew released The Naked Dutch Painter in 2002, which again won EW's Album of the Year. 

Heidi Rodewald is "the thinner, lighter half of the multidisciplinary ensemble known as Stew." For almost a decade she has been a performer, arranger, producer, and composer in both Stew and The Negro Problem. With Stew, she co-wrote the screenplay We Can See Today and, when it was invited to the 2005 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, they became the only artists ever to have projects in both the Film and Theatre Labs simultaneously. Rodewald also recently composed music for Karen Kandel's Portraits: Night and Day. In the '80s, she was a member of Wednesday Week, a groundbreaking girls group seen regularly on MTV.

Visit www.publictheater.org for more information.