Tom's Journal

I saw the new broadway musical “Passing Strange” with quietchris and salliesandbags on Thursday night. It was awesome. Tickets are still cheap, as it hasn’t been “discovered” yet. I highly recommend you see it.

It is the story of a young black man that grew up in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood who leaves for Amsterdam to become a musician and artist. He later goes to Berlin to explore the very different scene there.

The story is semi-autobiographical. The “narrator” is “Stew” and he tells the story of his life as he plays guitar. People sing and dance and act out what he is saying. The main charactor (himself as a youth) often shares the microphone with him. The band is on stage and shares part of the acting duties.

I loved the show. While I enjoyed the music and singing, I thought the writing was the strongest part of the show. It was funny and somewhat self-referential. That is, the show didn’t take itself too seriously even though it was powerfully talking about important serious issues. You’d have to see it to understand what I mean.

Site: http://www.passingstrangeonbroadway.com/
Wikipedia: Passing Strange

Now playing on Broadway in NYC.