Passing Strange 2007 Demo Recording

Music and Lyrics: Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Released: Unreleased

A young black musician travels on a picaresque journey to rebel against his mother and his upbringing in a church-going, middle-class, South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. He finds new experiences in promiscuous Amsterdam, with its easy access to drugs and sex, and in artistic, chaotic, political Berlin, where he struggles with ethics and integrity when he misrepresents his background as poor to get ahead. Along with his "passing" from place to place and from lover to lover, the young musician moves through a number of musical styles from a background of gospel to punk, and then blues, jazz, and rock. He finally returns home.

Passing Strange is a semi-autobiographical musical with lyrics and book by Stew and music and orchestrations by Stew and Heidi Rodewald.

The musical premiered on October 19, 2006, at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California. It was then produced off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York City, running from May 14, 2007, through June 3, 2007. The musical began previews at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway on February 8, 2008, and officially opened on February 28, 2008.

Passing Strange has received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical, seven 2008 Drama Desk Award nominations and nominations for a number of other awards. Reviews on Broadway have been positive. It has also been nominated for seven Tony Awards.

You can watch a Passing Strange Video Clip at Musical Theatre Clips.

More Info: Passing Strange NY Times Review
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Wicked. 2003 Original Broadway Cast Recording

Music and Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz
Released: December 16, 2003
Label: Universal Records

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a libretto by Winnie Holzman. The story is based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz.

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly prior to Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and also includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The musical debuted on Broadway on October 30, 2003. It is produced by Universal Pictures and directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Its original stars were Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. Although the production received mixed reviews and was panned by The New York Times, it has proved to be a favorite among patrons. The Broadway production's success spawned productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London's West End, Tokyo, and Stuttgart, along with a North American tour that has visited over 30 cities in Canada and the United States.


More Info: Wicked (Wikipedia)
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