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May 2009

SPIKE LEE NEWS

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SPIKE LEE NEWS
PBS' "Great Performances" has acquired Spike Lee's film adaptation of the rock musical "Passing Strange"

Source: Variety

May 1, 2009

PBS' "Great Performances" has acquired Spike Lee's film adaptation of the rock musical "Passing Strange" out of the Tribeca fest and announced plans to air the project in 2010.
"Passing Strange" is the story of a young black man who leaves behind his middle-class upbringing in mid-1970s Los Angeles to travel to Europe, where he finds he can exploit his "South Central" persona. The play received seven Tony noms and won for book of a musical.

The producers of "Passing Strange" said they're exploring a limited theatrical release for the film in the late summer or early fall.

The film of PASSING STRANGE was shot during two performances in front of a live audience on Saturday, July 19 at the Belasco Theatre (111 W. 44 St.)

With book and lyrics by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, PASSING STRANGE on Broadway was directed and created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen. The cast featured Tony nominee De'Adre Aziza, Tony nominee 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 -- Heidi Rodewald, Jon Spurney, Chrisian Cassan, Christian Gibbs and again, Stew. Karole Armitage is choreographer.

PASSING STRANGE -- which opened at the Belasco on February 28 -- was one of the most critically-acclaimed, buzzed-about musicals on Broadway in recent memory. The musical received the Best Musical prizes from the New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Drama Desk and Village Voice Obies. Stew received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical last month.

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