Passing Strange Passes Away from Broadway

Carol Rosegg

The Tony, OBIE and Drama Desk-award winning rock musical Passing Strange will close July 20th after a six month run on Broadway, during which time the show failed to translate massive critical acclaim into box office profits. Attendance hovered around 50% capacity for most of the run, and producers’ hopes for a post-Tonys boost were dashed when Latino musical In the Heights dominated the awards.

News broke earlier in the week that Spike Lee will be filming Passing Strange for cable or, possibly, theatrical distribution. Yesterday Lee told Time Out NY, “I saw it, and came back the second time with Wesley Snipes and said, ‘You gotta see this.’ So often you see a play and it’s gone, unless you go to the Lincoln Center archive. But this piece of work is going to be documented.” He’ll film two performances with audiences present on July 19th, with additional shooting when the house is empty. Tickets for all remaining performances are on sale here, and $25 rush tickets are sold at the box office on the day of each performance.