Spike Lee is heading to broadway. The Oscar-nominated director is going to shoot a concert film like version of the hit Tony-winning Broadway musical, “Passing Strange” in July (as he did with with “The Original Kings of Comedy” live concert he shot in 2000).
Written by singer/songerwriter and actor Stew, Lee will shoot the performance over a weekend, twice with an audience and once without. No distribution has been set, but “Passing Strange”s producers are funding the project and Hollywood Insider says they’ll hope to find a home for the film on cable television once its complete.
A rock ’n’ roll autobiography of a black musician in search of himself, as many have noted already, “Passing Strange” isn’t your average musical. “It is far richer in wit, feeling and sheer personality than most of what is classified as musical theater, its big heart throbs to the sound of electric guitars, searing synthesizer chords, driving drums and lyrics delivered not in a clean croon but a throaty yelp,” wrote the New York Times. “Call it a rock concert with a story to tell, trimmed with a lot of great jokes. Or call it a sprawling work of performance art, complete with angry rants and scary drag queens…. I’ll just call it wonderful, and a welcome anomaly on Broadway.”