Welcome to Passing Strange The Movie website

Welcome to Passing Strange The Movie website, the Passing Strange site brought to you by the Passing Strange family for the true Passing Strange uber-fan!  My name is Steve Klein (guess which one in the picture is me) and I produced the film precisely because I am that kind of fan of Passing Strange. My first exposure to this amazing work of art, music, entertainment, and philosophy came when I saw it before it opened on Broadway and signed on to be one of the million producers of the Broadway show.

In case you’ve wondered how you become a producer of a Broadway show, it’s simple really: you basically either invest some money of your own or raise other people’s money to help fund the run on the Great White Way.  A musical is not something I would normally invest in (let alone go see) but PS is far from your typical musical and for that matter, it’s sort of far from anything you can describe.  That’s because it’s completely genre busting and original in every way.

That’s why I decided to pursue buying the rights to shoot the last shows of the production.  If you can’t even really describe what Passing Strange is, and if it’s so important as a piece of art, then it must be preserved so people can get to see it – after all, how many did get to see it during its short runs on Broadway, The Public Theater, Berkeley, etc.?  Probably less than 200,000 people.  And for such a major work, that is far from acceptable.

So in about a 2 month period, I got my partners at Apple Core Holdings to say “yes, lets do it” (they are fans of the show so they understood why we should), Stew and Heidi to say “yes, let’s do it” (that was very easy), the show Producers to say “yes lets do it” (a longer process to negotiate specifics but we got it done), and amazingly, my fantasy of getting Spike Lee to direct it was absurdly easy (one conversation from his car phone the day after I emailed him — he was such a big fan of the show).

So here we are.  The movie is opening in at least one theater in NY on August 21st @ the IFC Center on 6th Ave and 3rd street in the village, and hopefully more.  It goes wide on VOD on August 26th as the first release from Sundance Selects, the new distribution brand in a joint venture between The Sundance Film Festival and Rainbow Media (which owns IFC Films, The Sundance Channel, and other media properties).  It will play on PBS Great Performances series in 2010.

My dream of documenting the play and exposing it to a much larger audience that it could ever have on a stage alone even if it kept running is about to come true.  And Spike Lee took the work of art that is the play and made a work of art that is the film.  I couldn’t be happier.  I couldn’t be prouder.  And I look forward to hearing about all the joy the movie will bring as more and more people get to see it over time.

So that’s what this site is about, I hope.  It’s a place for fans of the play, the movie, the art, the philosophy, the relationships, the honesty, of this unique piece of theater, to come and share how they relate to it.  We’ve built in lots of community functionality and with a work like this so grounded in amazing music and dynamic images, that community functionality needs to come with audio and video capability – and it does.

I encourage everyone to become a member and upload your favorite Passing Strange related video and audio.  Let’s hear your rendition of “Come Down Now” or let’s see you do your best Mr. Venus performing “What’s Inside Is Just a Lie”.  Maybe you want to make your own a post-modern porno film of fully clothed men making business deals, ala Sudabey.  Or any other audio or video ideas you’re interested in recording or posting.   If you’re camera shy or just feel like typing, of course feel free to express anything Passing Strange related that’s on your mind in written words.

One of the many gifts Passing Strange gives is the universal nature of the story despite it being about a black man’s struggle with identity.  One of the many elements of magic for me is that a white, sellout business guy like myself can relate so strongly to a black artist finding his way in life.  I personally find that very exciting.  So please, feel free to share any story or other anecdote that connects you to this brilliant work.

I will also encourage participation from the Passing Strange family, from Spike, Stew and Heidi, to the brilliant cast and band members, to co-creator and stage director Annie Dorsen, and some other guest bloggers that have been part of the evolution of Passing Strange The Movie.

I hope we build a truely vibrant community around Passing Strange.  That’s why we built all of that community functionality into the site.  And if that doesn’t happen, well hey, at least we’ll have a home for all the video clips and a place to tell you where to go to get a DVD!

- Steve Klein

Producer