theater

Interview with Stew

Hilarious and insightful, as he often is:

Here’s a quote!

What did you know about theater or Broadway before you developed this show?

Very little. I had a lot of respect for people like Bertolt Brecht. I had read Brecht, and he touches a lot of rock performers more than any other theorist or writer in the theater world, I think, because his theories are very rock ‘n’ roll. Like the way he talks about the way an actor plays a role without trying to make anyone think that they are that character, and reminds the audience that they’re watching a play. In high school, when you’re a rock ‘n’ roll stoner, your mortal enemies are the thespians. We thought that musical theater was the dorkiest thing in the world and had nothing to do with the music we listened to. And quite frankly we still feel that way. I mean, uh, we don’t understand why Broadway doesn’t, for the most part, utilize the music of the street, the car, the headphones.

Very enjoyable.

And also: Stew Plays Drunk at the Obies (read the whole thing), it does get a bit too wild for work:

Because of Stew, I am looking forward to the Tony Awards.

I don’t believe it either.

And more Stew news! Can’t wait!

Strange’ soundtrack on iTunes

Cast recording exclusive to Apple

By GORDON COX

“Passing Strange” will be the first Broadway tuner to release its original cast recording exclusively on iTunes, more than a month before the CD arrives in stores.

Ghostlight Records’ digital release, set for May 27, makes the “Strange” OCR available in time to take advantage of the awards attention producers hope the show will receive after Tony noms are announced Tuesday.

Due to the time lag for manufacturing and shipping, the CD is not expected to be available in brick-and-mortar stores until July. Cast album was recorded April 14 in an unusual live session at the show’s venue, the Belasco Theater. (Most cast albums are taped in a studio.)

“I wanted to make the music available in time for all the exposure the show is hopefully going to get in the next few weeks,” said Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight prexy Kurt Deutsch.

The iTunes exclusive reps another first for the old-fashioned legit industry, which like other sectors of showbiz is working to cultivate the benefits of digital-age fixtures such as YouTube and MySpace.

According to Deutsch, the initial iTunes-only release makes sense for a show like “Passing Strange,” a rock tuner that aims to appeal to a young—and therefore tech-savvy—demo. In recent years, he has seen downloads jump from 5% to 25%-30% of sales for albums of youth-appeal tuners such as “Legally Blonde.”

Deutsch and Bill Rosenfield exec produced the “Passing Strange” OCR, with Stew and Heidi Rodewald, co-creators of the musical, serving as producers.

I don’t usually have cause to watch the Tony Awards.

This year is different though. Passing Strange—the show which is the brainchild of Stew and Heidi Rodewald, both of the band The Negro Problem—:is nominated for seven Tony Awards!

• Best Musical
• Best Original Score
• Best Book of a Musical
• Best Orchestrations (Stew & Heidi Rodewald)
• Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Stew)
• Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Daniel Breaker)
• Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (de’Adre Aziza)

I’ve been listening to the music of stew for seven years! Blogging about his and TNP stuff the whole time.