Greensboro College Presents Tony Award-winning Musical “Passing Strange” March 28-31
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro College United African American Society and Department of Theatre will present the North Carolina premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical “Passing Strange” Wednesday, March 28, through Saturday, March 31, in Gail Brower Huggins Performance Center in Odell Building on campus.
Performances are open to the public, although no one under 17 will be admitted without an accompanying adult. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for non-Greensboro College students. To reserve tickets, call 336-217-7220.
The musical, by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, is the story of a young musician from a middle-class, churchgoing neighborhood in Los Angeles who travels to Amsterdam and Berlin to find “the real.” Nominated for seven Tony Awards, it won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical in 2008. It also won the Drama Desk Award and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical as well as the 2008 Obie Award for Best American Theatre Piece.
The production is the college’s first musical to be cast entirely with African American performers.
The story of “Passing Strange” “goes so far beyond the scope of what’s happening onstage,” says actor D.J. Brinson, who portrays Stew. “While we may be black actors telling the story, someone of any color can come and take something away. That’s universal.”
David Schram, Jefferson Pilot Professor of Theatre and chair of the Department of Theatre, is directing the production.
“There’s something interesting in the way this story is told, especially in music form,” Schram says. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever come across before.”
Music director is Stephanie Lindley, who also plays keyboards and sings in the production.
Cast members in addition to Brinson include Benita Adams, CharMeka Menefee, Churaqui Mosley, Elizabeth Pucel, Jamar Tyree and Justin Weaks. Musicians in addition to Lindley include drummer Jacob Anflick, bassist Andy Gainey and guitarist Kenny Weiss.
The artistic team includes DeEnna Fullenwider, assistant director; Mitchell Land and Zach Dutch, sound design; Molly Miller and Emily Diehl, lighting design; Andy Jean Mary, costuming; Katie Jane Trosan, dramaturgy; and Cassie Shintay, choreography. Sarah Stewart is the stage manager with Nicole Philbrick and Dallas Hasty as assistant stage managers.
The United African American Society, founded in 1973-74, is an organization open to all students for the purpose of making the college community more aware of African American culture, issues, and problems.
The Greensboro College Theatre Department seeks to provide a foundation in theater and to allow the student to emphasize acting in theater, costumes, stage design/technical theater, stage directing and management, or theater licensure. The coursework is integrated with the production work to provide a better understanding of the many facets of the theater. Required participation on stage or backstage on all theater productions allows the techniques and theories that are examined in the classroom and the laboratory to be tested in a performance setting.
Interested applicants must audition or submit a portfolio and must be interviewed by faculty. For more information, contact David Schram, Jefferson Pilot Professor of Theatre, at 336-272-7102, ext. 243, or email schramd@greensboro.edu.
Greensboro College, an independent, coeducational college affiliated with the United Methodist Church, is an academic and social community that unites the liberal arts and Judeo-Christian values in an atmosphere of diversity and mutual respect.
Founded in 1838 and located near downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,250 students from 32 states, the District of Columbia and 24 nations in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and four master’s degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features an 18-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational organizations.
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Media Contact:
Lex Alexander, Director of External Relations
lex.alexander@greensboro.edu
Greensboro College
815 W. Market St.
Greensboro, NC 27401
336-272-7102 ext. 398
Cell: 336-707-6617
www.greensboro.edu
