On January 12, 2010 IFC Films releases Passing Strange The Movie, Spike Lee’s filmed record of the acclaimed, Tony Award-winning musical drama which closed on July 20, 2008.

Passing Strange The Movie tells the semi-autobiographical story of a young black man, identified simply as Youth, who leaves behind his middle-class, church-ruled upbringing in mid-1970s Los Angeles to travel to Europe in search of his artistic and personal identity, or what he calls “the real.” Misadventures with sex, drugs, politics and art await him in uninhibited Amsterdam and hyper-militant Berlin, leading to a hard-won understanding of where he came from and where his life may take him.

Passing Strange is unlike any other Broadway show that I have ever seen. At first it seems like a strange Broadway experimentation but in the end, it really is a raw and exciting rock n roll autobiography of an African-American singer-songwriter in search of identity. It’s the 1970s when Stew (Daniel Breaker) rebels against his family and goes to Europe for more clarity.

There are many running themes, including the exploration of faith, sex, drugs, and reality which all of us can relate to. The original cast is outstanding and full of energy in every moment. Each and every actor has a character with a rich personality, which makes for some memorable one liners.

The writing is witty and sharp, the music is a moving mixture of rock, funk and gospel, and the structure of the play is informal and yet still quite comfortable. Passing Strange takes viewers on quite an adventure, much more of an emotional roller coaster than expected.

As for the directing, the close-ups of the cast and band members gives fans the best seat in the house though if you want to feel what the crowd feels, shots of the audience dancing during a musical number brings that vibe too. It was also quite fun to see what the Passing Strange family did during their brief intermission. This musical was a wonderfully captured on film and one can only hope that Passing Strange becomes even more popular with the release of the DVD.

Bonus Features:

Stew & Heidi Interview – Spike Lee interviews Passing Strange creators Stew and Heidi Rodewald on stage about the journey of Passing Strange, what it is like performing on stage, and making an impact on Broadway. It would have been something to appreciate much more if the questions were more specific and the creators talked more about creating Passing Strange, from writing all of the drafts, to casting, to the creation and changes in the music from off Broadway to Broadway, etc…so hopefully much more will be discussed in Stew & Heidi’s future projects.

Last Show Cast Backstage – This feature takes viewers backstage as 5 of the cast members are preparing their voices for their last show and end up jamming out. Afterwords, one of the cast members gives a heartfelt speech detailing her gratitude and love to the cast, which really makes viewers come to appreciate Passing Strange all the more.

Teaching De’adre the Bolex – The title of this feature speaks for itself and it’s actually not all that interesting, probably because I don’t have a bolex and can’t learn how to roll right along with her. Perhaps this might still be of interest to others, but I’ll pass.

Heidi Gives A Tour – The co-creator of Passing Strange gives fans a behind the scenes tour of backstage, on stage, and below the stage along with a few interesting fun facts about what goes on during intermission and the theater. This was a great feature although I must admit, I was waiting for Heidi to enter the dressing rooms of the cast!

Last Makeup Session – The camera zeroes in on Daniel Breaker, Stew, and other cast members as they converse with their makeup artists during the last makeup session…a lot of discussion takes place in a makeup session, so you might be surprised to see how much more of an inside look this feature gives than any other. What a fabulous feature. If only there were a camera in the makeup room during every show.

Passing Strange The Movie will become available on DVD January 12, 2010.

Passing Strange the Original Broadway Cast Recording is available now.