"PASSING STRANGE"
Based on the original play Book and Lyrics Written by Stew
Music Composed by Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Directed by Spike Lee
**** (four stars)
I cannot explain the reasons why but I am typically not moved very much by-and am actually a tad resistant to-the theater experience. Just so you all know and understand, dear readers, I have nothing against the theater, and fully respect the artistry on display from all participants. All I can say is that I guess the language of the stage doesn’t fully reach me.
Now, this observation is not an over-reaching one as I am able to instantly recall three theater experiences in my life that were nothing less than transformative. As a small child in the 1970’s, I was witness to the production of “The Wiz,” and even from a fairly close vantage point. So close, that I distinctly remember a moment after The Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross) sang his entrance number, he looked out into the audience and I am convinced that he looked directly (and even pointed) right at me! The fourth wall had been shattered completely and I felt to be somewhat inside of the production for every moment afterwards.
Sometime in the 1990’s, I saw the massive touring production of a “West Side Story” revival. I was captivated by the relentless energy and sheer athleticism of those bodies in seemingly effortless flight. Again, that fourth wall had been broken as I marveled that these actors, singers and dancers were physically not far from me, creating a rich, vibrant and ultimately, tragic world.
The last was a show I would not have missed for anything as it was based upon one of my favorite rock albums as well as one of my favorite movies. The Who’s stage production of “Tommy” was an extraordinary sight to witness, and one that was tailor made for my sensibilities. And as for that fourth wall? Well…the “Pinball Wizard” sequence, where sound and vision congealed to make the entire theater resemble a giant pinball machine, oh man, I wanted for absolutely nothing more…and that was the end of the first act!
I also have to say that 1952's “Singing In The Rain” notwithstanding, the classic movie musical is also a genre I have generally been resistant towards as I tend to feel that anything pre-1973 veers towards the corny side. All of those hambone gestures and arsenal of jazz hands rubs me the wrong way and anyhow, my sensibilities lead me toward edgier fare or just something that possess a rock and roll energy as I came of age during the time of the rock movie musical.
Leave it to filmmaker Spike Lee to challenge all of my sensibilities, merge the best elements of film, the movie musical, and live theater together in “Passing Strange,” his dynamic, electrifying and euphoric documentation of the Tony Award winning production, which was filmed at the production’s final performance on Broadway’s Belasco theater. “Passing Strange” is the definition of a revelation and I urge all of you reading this review to race to your local video store emporium and rent it for yourselves. If they do not carry a copy for rental, demand that they do or take your hard earned business elsewhere! This will be worth your time!!
“Passing Strange,” written by rock musician Stew, leader of the obscure yet critically celebrated band The Negro Problem is a semi-autobiographical tale of an unnamed Youth’s (Daniel Breaker) physical and inner journey as an artist in search of “the real.” The story begins in the “plasticland” confines of his Mother’s (Eisa Davis) home and hypocritical church upbringing in 1970’s South Central Los Angeles. After forming a punk rock band and being confronted with issues of personal and racial identity within the African-American community, the Youth rebels and becomes determined (after three epiphanies-one spiritual, one narcotic, one musical) to leave L.A. and venture to a place where he can just be himself and explore his emerging world as an artist and musician. He flees for the promiscuous “paradise” of Amsterdam, where he takes a lover (or several), builds up a musical repertoire yet still feels unfulfilled as he mistakes his comfort and happiness as a hindrance to his artistic process. His journey takes him next to the abrasive, artistically confrontational chaos of Berlin’s “Nowhaus,” where he fabricates a hard living past life in order to “pass” more broadly as an artist. It seems that his search for “the real” has led him into a dark cavern of artifice where only he is to blame for the compromised essence of his soul. The Youth is then forced to face himself and ask the hard questions of why he has deserted his race, his family, his life and whether he will be able to find his way back home again.
It seems quite fitting the play’s title is taken from a line in William Shakespeare’s Othello, as “Passing Strange” utilizes an exuberantly entertaining process to detail a painful existential and even universal journey. One needs not be an African-American rock musician to ask the question, ”Who am I?” and the Youth’s endless quest for “the real” takes the individual and makes him a stand-in for everyone. By working simultaneously as a play, a work of performance art, a rock concert, stark confessional and nearly Holy Ghost-driven church revival, “Passing Strange” becomes a one-of–a kind experience guaranteed to joyously make the collective hairs on the back of your necks tingle while you find yourself rising from your seats to join in the boundless energy on display.
What Spike Lee has done with this film, much like his concert film “The Original Kings Of Comedy” (2000) is to serve in the role of documentarian. Lee is here obtain, preserve and present all of the information while staying out of the actor’s and musician’s ways, as the stage set is minimal and even contains on-stage pods for Stew’s four piece band, which includes his co-composer, Bassist Heide Rodewald. Yet, Lee brilliantly uses the language of cinema to bring the stage to you, the audience at home.
Perhaps taking a cue from Jonathan Demme’s groundbreaking 1984 concert film for Talking Heads, “Stop Making Sense,” there are practically no shots of the theater audience as Lee gets his fleet of camera on stage and up close, providing the home viewer with the complete details of the set, musicians, and all of the actor’s dramatic subtleties and shadings. The look of the film seems to be more of high definition video than film stock, thus eliminating that fourth wall and giving you the feeling you are in the very front row or even more dramatically, possessing a seat directly on the stage itself! You can see the sweat on each actor’s face throughout, showing you the intense peak energy with which the show’s cast and musicians are performing for this final time. The utilization of film editing also works to allow some sequences to flow naturally while giving other sections an even more visceral energy. It is a masterful and magnificent integration of styles and techniques.
But, there is no way that I can give sole credit to Spike Lee, no matter how amazingly he pulled it off. I have to honor the source material, the songs and the extraordinary cast. The identity crisis at the core of “Passing Strange” plus its ruminations of art, music and African-American life seemed to be tailor made for Spike Lee’s sensibilities as many of Stew’s themes successfully mirror Lee’s own. The Youth can almost be seen as an especially immature versions of trumpeter Bleek Gilliam from Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990) or even Patriarch Woody Carmichael from Lee's "Crooklyn" (1994), whose uncompromising devotion and discipline to his art forsakes and damages nearly all of the relationships around him.
Furthermore, there is the astounding music which captures musical theater grandeur by way of rock and roll thunder and nearly gymnastic lyrics that dare you to keep up with them. I haven’t felt quite the same way since reading the works of author and poet Paul Beatty with his blazing cultural mash-ups The White Boy Shuffle, Slumberland and Joker, Joker, Deuce. Stew and Rodewld’s songs completely open up the Youth’s world to us and there’s not even one clunker in the bunch. We can easily and quickly experience his almost "Salingeresque" weary with his weekly excursions to church with “Baptist Fashion Show.” We instantly feel the culture clash between Amsterdam and Berlin with the dissonant “Mayday.” Musical comedy is shown to hilarious heights with “We Just Had Sex” and the Berlin racial breakdown of “The Black One.” The show’s most memorable song to me was the gorgeously stunning love song “Keys,” during which a Danish girl selflessly offers her abode to the Youth upon his arrival to Amsterdam. And then, there’s the wild, anthemic chorus performed at the conclusion of both acts with cast and band singing, the words “Well…It’s All Right!!” over and over. It is a roof raiser that echoes and even rivals Pete Townshend’s classic “Listening To You” from “Tommy.” It feels like the voice of God through slashing electric guitars and pounding drums. I hate to sound so hyperbolic but such was the effect this film left upon me by its conclusion. I cannot downplay the fact that since the show's final performance is the one to have been preserved for us, it truly feels as if all participants gave it their all as if it would be the last thing they would ever perform in their time on Earth. Their collective hearts were on the stage and with all graces to Spike Lee, he captured them for us to see and feel for years and years to come.
So why was this film not shown in theaters at all? I wish I had the answer for you as I wish I just had it for myself. This film did indeed have a showing at the Sundance film festival and it was screened for major film critics last summer, who did indeed write a slew of highly rated reviews. But, alas, no theater showing at all across the country. This film was released on home video in January of this year to coincide with its Public Television premiere on "Great Performances," and aside form that, no other public showings have been held to my knowledge. I cannot understand it at all. If there was a reason behind the scenes, like maybe it was never intended for theaters, or if theaters did not want to take a risk on this material or if it could not find a distributor to release it widely, maybe I would or possibly could understand. But then again, no matter what the reason, there is NO REASON to me, to keep a film like this away from mass audiences and allow the people to decide its popularity. As I go to the movies and see trailers for one piece of garbage after another (Brendan Fraser and J. Lo, I am looking at you right now), it angers me that films like "Passing Strange" would never even have a chance, let alone the opportunity, to be seen as widely as possible.
"Passing Strange" more than deserves the chance. It is document of a theater production so vibrant, so beautifully crafted and executed that I felt as if I was right there. And you know, I have to re-state that last musing because this time the joined languages of theater and film worked together so seamlessly, I didn't just feel as if I was there...I was there and IT'S ALL RIGHT!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment