Spike Lee, Stew Bring 'Passing Strange' to Big Screen

Coming out Friday is Spike Lee's film of the Tony Award-winning musical 'Passing Strange.'

The highly acclaimed Broadway show was written by singer-songwriter Stew Rodewald (with music cowritten by his creative partner, Heidi ).

'Passing Strange: The Movie' tells the semi-autobiographical story of a young black man 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."

Picaresque misadventures involving sex, drugs, politics and art await him in far-out Amsterdam and hypermilitant Berlin.

An absolutely superb cast, ably supported by sparing (but pitch-perfect) costumes, design and stagecraft, bring to life this emotionally charged story that is narrated and overseen by Stew himself. Lee's multicamera coverage of the event (including backstage scenes) involves the audience in not only the text but the electricity of the ensemble's on-stage adventure.

Lee and his crew filmed 'Passing Strange' live at the Belasco Theatre during its Broadway run in July, a day before to the musical's final performance. The cast featured Tony nominee De'Adre Aziza, Tony nominee Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Chad Goodridge, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew, as well as the band of musicians who join the cast on stage.

Sundance Selects, a new transactional video-on-demand film offering through Rainbow Media and The Sundance Channel, will debut with 'Passing Strange The Movie,' on Wednesday, August 26. The service will feature one premiere title a month on demand, with plans to increase the offering to two premiere titles each month.

Lee states, "It makes sense that Passing Strange The Movie will launch Sundance Selects, as Stew and Heidi Rodewald, the original musical's co-creators, developed the project at the Sundance Theater Lab and Director Lab. I'm pleased to work once again with Robert Redford, and with the Sundance Channel, on the launch of this new service."

In speaking with Black Voices, Spike, Stew, and Heidi talked about bringing the play to the big screen and how good this show was before it went dark.

Spike, can you talk about making the decision to shoot the play as a film rather than as a film about the play?

Spike Lee: When I initially saw it at the Public Theater, I thought about how I would be able to do this as a film. I had someone from Imagine Pictures come to the show. I had recently done 'Inside Man' with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, who own Imagine, but they weren't really feeling optioning the play as a film. The show then went away and moved to Broadway. It was struggling at the box office, so it needed to win a bunch of Tony Awards to keep it going. When it didn't win, Steve Klein, one of the producers, approached me about making sure that this thing lives on forever.

From the stage to the screen, what will the audience get that's different?

Stew: Oddly enough, when you are in a theater, you are watching human beings; when you are watching a film, you get to see closeups, and closeups are what we are all seeing right now. What we really want to do is look at people's faces and get a reaction. In theater, if you are in row 40, that's not happening.

Stew, how much input did you have with the filming?

Stew: It was all of his Spike's vision.

Spike Lee: It was a matter of seeing the show a lot of times, around 10 showings, and knowing the show, and knowing where the camera had to be at crucial moments. In fact, we filmed the last three performances. There was a Saturday matinee, the evening, and then the Sunday matinee. In between the two shows on Saturday, we watched the entire show with the great cinematographer Matthew Libatique. After watching it, we noticed that we missed a few things and we had to get it.

Did you watch the show from different places in the theater?

Spike Lee: No. We had monitors in the basement.

Stew: Spike had thought about having monitors, and all of them had names. Spike would watch all the screens at the same time and never once did he stop to rewind. Me and the actors just watched in awe at how these guys were able to do this in one take. Then we shot it again, but we felt we were in good hands.

What were the logistics of getting the audience members on board?

Spike Lee: Some were recruited and some had bought tickets.

When you saw yourselves on the stage, how were you affected?

Heidi: I think I'm moving around and I'm not. We're looking at this through Spike's eyes and it's great.

Stew: The thing about both of us is that we have been doing this for a while now. If we were 22, then maybe we would be analyzing this to make some sort of correction. At this point, we know how to look good for the camera. We were already comfortable with ourselves.

Did you have to re-direct anything?

Stew: Let me just say that I was directed in a very particular area because there is a moment where I get to be with the audience and sing to the audience during the 'It's all right' scene. That's where the audience gets pumped up. Spike came to my dressing room the morning of the shooting and said to me, "I need you to get them out on their feet." Nobody, including the director of the play had ever directed me, especially in my zone. I've been doing this for a long time, and nobody dared to tell me anything when I'm in my zone. I do a pretty good job at getting the crowd excited, but he said, "We need them on their feet. This is the shot I need." It was a moment of truth. It was a challenge. What would have happened if it didn't work with the cameras rolling? It could have been embarrassing.

What's next?

Stew: We're making a record and doing two theater pieces; one at the Public and one at St. Ann's Warehouse. Heidi and I will be doing a bunch of concerts next year.

Black Filmmakers: Through The Years

Tyler Perry
No other African American filmmaker has made an impact in the film business this decade like Perry. Bringing his theatrical character Madea Simmons to the big screen has proven very successful at the box office. From 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' to 'Madea's Family Reunion' to 'Why Did I Get Married?,' which featured the return of Janet Jackson to the big screen, Perry's films have grossed close to $300 million in four years. And having Oprah Winfrey as one of his biggest champions hasn't hurt things either. Perry and that talk-show diva will join forces in bringing Lee Daniels' critically acclaimed movie, 'Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire,' to the masses later this year.

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Spike Lee
Besides Woody Allen, no other filmmaker has had more films on the big screen in the last 20 years than Lee. From 'She's Gotta Have It' to 'Jungle Fever' to the critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated 'Do The Right Thing,' Lee's production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. In 2008, the Atlanta native released his latest film, 'Miracle at St. Anna,' a story about blacks fighting in WWII that stars Derek Luke and Michael Ealy.

Matt Carr, Getty Images

Oscar Micheaux
As the pioneer of African American filmmakers, this Metropolis, Illinois, native revolutionized the film industry when he formed his own movie production company and, in 1919, became the first African American to make a film. He wrote, directed and produced the silent motion picture 'The Homesteader' and then introduced the film world to Paul Robeson in 'Body and Soul.' In 1986, the Directors Guild of America honored Micheaux with a Golden Jubilee Special Award, and today the Oscar Micheaux Award is presented each year by the Producers Guild.

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Robert Townsend
Primarily known as a comedian, this Chicago native established himself when he wrote, directed, produced and starred in the comedy 'Hollywood Shuffle,' his 1987 film about struggling black actors. He also created and produced the CableACE award–winning 'Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime' for HBO. His best film to date is the 1991 musical 'The Five Heartbeats.' Townsend recently directed the documentary 'Why We Laugh,' a story on black comedians and their impact in America.

Matt Carr, Getty Images

Bill Duke
Known for his imposing 6-foot-6-inch figure and action films such as 1987's 'Predator,' the Poughkeepsie, New York, native began directing feature-length films in the 1990s with the crime dramas 'A Rage in Harlem,' 'Deep Cover' and 'Hoodlum.' In 2007, Duke directed 'Cover,' which starred Vivica A. Fox, and most recently 'Not Easily Broken,' which is based on a T.D Jakes novel and stars Morris Chestnut and Taraji P. Henson.

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Ossie Davis
As a pioneer in the film business and a legend in the African American community, Davis was an actor, director, poet, playwright, writer and social activist whose career spanned nearly 50 years. Davis directed numerous films during the blaxploitation era, including 1970's 'Cotton Comes to Harlem' and 1973's 'Gordon's War.' Along with wife Ruby Dee, the Georgia native starred in many movies, including several of director Spike Lee's films such as 'Do The Right Thing,' 'Jungle Fever' and 'She Hate Me.'

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Melvin Van Peebles
This Chicago actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer is most famously known for his contribution to the blaxploitation era with the independently financed and critically acclaimed film 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.' The 1971 film was written, produced, scored, directed by and starred Van Peebles and tells the story of a deprived African American man on his escape from the white authority. The father of actor/ director Mario, in 2008, Melvin completed the film 'Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha,' which played at various film festivals.

Rob Loud, Getty Images

Julie Dash
In 1991, this Queens, New York, native's film 'Daughters of the Dust,' which tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century, was the first full-length film with general theatrical release in the United States by an African American woman. In 2004, the film was included in the National Film Registry.

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F. Gary Gray
Having directed more than 30 music videos for artists such as Ice Cube, Queen Latifah, TLC, Dr. Dre and Mary J. Blige, and winning several awards for his work, the New York native moved into the film world with the cult favorite 'Friday,' starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. He then followed that film with another fan favorite, 'Set It Off,' with Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Jada Pinkett Smith, before moving on to big budgeted films such as 'The Negotiator,' 'The Italian Job' and 'Be Cool.' His next feature is slated to be 'Marvin: The Life Story of Marvin Gaye.'

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Forest Whitaker
An Academy Award winner for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film 'The Last King of Scotland', the Longview, Texas, native has directed many films, including the fan favorite 1995's 'Waiting to Exhale,' based on the Terry McMillan novel of the same name. Other directorial films from Whitaker include 'Hope Floats' and 'First Daughter.'

Matt Sayles, AP