Passing Strange

Featuring JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

Musical Direction by James Morehead

Performed April 21 – May 29, 2011

Chicago Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) 777 N. Green St.

With book and lyrics by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen, PASSING STRANGE is a daring new musical that takes audiences on a journey across boundaries of place, identity and theatrical convention. Loaded with soulful lyrics and overflowing with passion, the show takes us from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity. PASSING STRANGE electrified Broadway in 2008, winning a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and numerous other awards.

Passing Strange tells the story of a young black man from Los Angeles, rebelling against a loving, church-going family and breaking out on his own to follow the call of art and search for “the real”. It’s a universal coming-of-age tale about the explosive intersections and epic synergies of race, class, individuality, sex, drugs, rock… and the place we can’t help but call home. The New York Times said: “[Passing Strange] is far richer in wit, feeling and sheer personality than most of what is classified as musical theater these days…Call it a rock concert with a story to tell, trimmed with a lot of great jokes…I’ll just call it wonderful.”

Passing Strange… is staggeringly good. And anyone in need of a reminder of how Chicago theater continues to reinvent itself is advised to head directly to The Chicago Center for the Performing Arts to catch it.– Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/weiss/5017487-417/passing-strange-even-stronger-rearranged.html [A] savvy, simple, honest and rockin’-good-time…In the hands of the Bailiwick, it’s also a great night out.– Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2011/04/passing-strange-broadway-stew-bailiwick-chicago-review.html Director Lili-Anne Brown’s Midwest premiere of this 2008 Broadway musical is an energetic, electrifying event for the new Bailiwick.– Colin Douglas, Centerstage Chicago, http://www.centerstagechicago.com/theatre/shows/10030.html ★★★★…An extraordinary cast…a production that does full justice to this fascinating, inspiring work.– John Beer, TimeOut Chicago, http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/theater/14742173/passing-strange-at-bailiwick-chicago-theater-review ★★★★…nothing short of terrific.– Lawrence Bommer, Chicago Theater Blog, http://chicagotheaterblog.com/2011/04/28/passing-strange-bailiwick-chicago-theater-review