Reporter's Notebook: PASS OVER Advance Screening

When I learned last fall that Spike Lee had surreptitiously filmed Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of Antoniette Nwandu's PASS OVER, I had hoped it would be special. It is often tricky to capture the live theater experience on film, and Nwandu's lyrical, heartbreaking, timely, and utterly incredible play demanded that it be handled with care. For those unfamiliar, PASS OVER centers on Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Julian Parker), two young Black men on an urban street corner who pass the time and fight for their survival as the threat of being shot by the police constantly looms over them. The film definitively sets the play on a Chicago block, further underscoring the immediacy and the harsh reality of PASS OVER.

Without question, Lee's film of director Danya Taymor's production captures every inch of the immediacy, the gravity, and the surprising humor in PASS OVER. The film splits the roles of the white interloper Mister and the police office Ossifer, both originally portrayed by Ryan Hallahan in the stage production, into two roles. Hallahan maintains his chilling performance as Mister, while Blake DeLong assumes the role of Ossifer. Aside from this shift, Taymor's staging remains unchanged.

Hill and Parker remain as powerful as ever in their roles, and I noticed even more the surprising physical comedy that the two find in PASS OVER. The rapport these two actors have and the deep relationship their two characters have developed as they have honed their survival instincts feels raw and intensely intimate when viewed on a film screen. Lee makes some fascinating cinematography choices that further reinforce the immense life-or-death stakes in PASS OVER. In particular, Lee's frequent use of extreme close-up shots allows the audiences to see the actors' faces up close and to fully engage with the intense emotions at play.

PASS OVER was by far one of the best productions to grace a Chicago stage last season, and now anyone with an Amazon account will have the privilege to see this searing, timely, and extraordinarily necessary production come Friday. It is nothing short of remarkable that now so many will have access to this beautiful interpretation of Nwandu's play. This is compulsory viewing for all, and it is an incredible opportunity to see a filmed version of PASS OVER that truly represents the immediacy of live theater.

Spike Lee's film of PASS OVER will be available to view on Amazon starting Friday, April 20.

Photo by Michael Brosilow