Stew's 'Passing Strange': Music Analysis

Stew’s show Passing Strange is a musical that knows no boundaries. The plot follows the journey of the protagonist, referred to as “the Youth,” on his quest when he leaves his home in Los Angeles to explore the cultures of Amsterdam and Berlin. The Youth encounters an interesting cast of characters along the way; each of his interactions with these peripheral characters has its own distinct significance. The show follows no stencil of a classic twentieth or twenty-first-century musical, it has an essence that is entirely unique. Nearly every aspect of the show is innovative, specifically its use of diverse genres of music, an omniscient narrator, staging, and casting. Additionally, even though it does borrow the traditional theme of a quest
The show is based on mainly rock songs, but also incorporates gospel, blues, jazz, punk, and even a show tune (despite a joke made by the narrator that they did not know how to write a show tune). The diverse musical styles mirror the Youth’s mentality throughout the show; he is on a quest, but he cannot seem to determine for what he is searching or how he is feeling. The ‘all over the place’ feeling of the music demonstrates to the audience that the Youth is also feeling ‘all over the place.’ This use of musical genre to represent the emotional journey of the main character is innovative in that the show utilizes it in an extreme way by incorporating such drastically different genres. In addition to the use of multiple genres, the show also attempts to use the music to create a ‘concert-like’ feel. This is unlike most other musical theater shows because in most shows the music exists only in the context of the action of the show. In Passing Strange, however, the music does two jobs: it exists within the context of the show and it is also a separate element from the action of the show, which creates the concert atmosphere. The most prominent example of this is the finale of the show, where the action is over but the music continues as all of the actors dance around on the stage and the audience stands in their seats, much like they would at a
The set is minimal and props are virtually nonexistent. For example, one scene is supposed to take place in a car, but in reality, the four characters are simply sitting in chairs that are in a specific arrangement. Additionally, the set remains the same throughout the entire show, despite the Youth’s travels to many different locations. This lack of props and set plays into the imagination of the audience members, requiring them to rely on the descriptions given by the narrator and the other characters in order to visualize the place. This minimalist staging is innovative because it is uncommon among many modern musicals; most musicals have dramatic and detailed sets that change many times throughout the show, according to the location of the scene. Another unusual aspect of the staging of the show is that the orchestra is actually situated on the stage. For the majority of the show, the musicians are sunken into the stage; this situates them adjacent to the action of the show without placing them directly in it. Although, they do occasionally chime in with comments, and sometimes the characters interact with them. At the end of the show, the musicians rise up to be level with the rest of the stage. This situates them right in the action, and also contributes to the creation of the aforementioned ‘concert feel.’ Liberating the musicians from the traditional orchestra pit is a very successful choice and