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Berkeley Rep-premiered play nabs Tony nomination
Times staff
May 13, 2008
"Passing Strange," a rock musical satire that premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre last year, was nominated a best musical Tony on Tuesday.
The play, written by and starring the L.A.-based rock musician and satirist Stew, takes a funny and at times melancholy look at one man's journey towards self-discovery. It is one of several Berkeley Rep shows that have have gone on to Broadway in recent years. The play received glowing reviews in New York and has done brisk business.
"We are extremely proud," said Berkeley Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone. "From the beginning, we knew that Stew had something important to say in a fresh and unusual way, so it was an honor to support the development of 'Passing Strange' and to host the world premiere."
The play, in which Stew and other musicians perform live rock music and narration, follows a Los Angles African-American man's travels through Europe and elsewhere as he tries to make sense of his lot in life. Stew has said he picked Berkeley for the play's world premiere because of his prior experiences in the East Bay.
"Passing Strange is all about pilgrimages to the Real, and my first real-life pilgrimage was to Berkeley when I was a teenager," he said in a sxtatement. "This is why it was so moving and important to me that the play premiered at Berkeley Rep. Berkeley embodies many of the ideals that are celebrated in the play — a place where people live as if their thoughts have meaning and consequence."
At the Tony nominations announced Tuesday, "In the Heights," a lively snapshot of Latino life in Upper Manhattan, received 13 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, more than any other show.
A lush, lavish revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" took 11 nominations, followed by "Sunday in the Park With George" with nine. Three shows received seven nominations: "August: Osage County," "Passing Strange" and the revival of "Gypsy."
"Heights" was nominated for best musical along with "Cry-Baby," a raunchy '50s teenage romance based on the John Waters film; and "Xanadu," a spoof of the '80s disco movie musical.
"August: Osage County," already the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama, was nominated for best play along with Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer," Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll" and "The 39 Steps" by Patrick Barlow. The two romantic leads in "South Pacific" — Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot — received nominations. In the actress-musical category, O'Hara will go against Patti LuPone, "Gypsy"; Faith Prince, "A Catered Affair"; Kerry Butler, "Xanadu"; and Jenna Russell, "Sunday in the Park With George."
Szot's competition will be Lin-Manuel Miranda, "In the Heights"; Daniel Evans, "Sunday in the Park With George"; Stew, "Passing Strange"; and Tom Wopat, "A Catered Affair."
A special lifetime achievement Tony Award will go to Stephen Sondheim with a special Tony awarded posthumously to orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, who died in 1981. The regional theater Tony will go to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
The winners in 26 competitive categories will be announced June 15 in a three-hour CBS telecast from Radio City Music Hall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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