In its savvy, simple, honest and rockin’-good-time new production of “Passing Strange,” Bailiwick Chicago makes a surprisingly powerful argument that this most personal of rock-soul musicals stands up very well without its single-moniker creator, Stew, simmering in the middle of a Broadway stage.
In fact, from a performance perspective, director Lili-Anne Brown and the singer-narrator, Jayson “JC” Brooks, made a heck of a case that the show is better without him.
“Passing Strange,” which features music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, was a very unusual New York show in 2008. In essence, Stew walked out on stage and proceeded to sing and describe something close to his own life story: A rebellious, young African-American man from Los Angeles takes off on a personal and artistic odyssey to Amsterdam and Berlin, spends time with the bohemians of those free-loving cities, and, as the buzz wears off, discovers that finding yourself has nothing to do with geography and that there are no palm trees like the palm trees of home.
But this wasn’t a straight narration. With Stew popping in and out of the yarn, an actor played his younger self in the moments. A small ensemble acted out this personal musical rebellion, from church to pot-soaked cafe to the brittle bosoms of arty Berliners. It was all a bit disconcerting watching Stew watching himself — and commenting on his own youthful mistakes. Although there was no doubting Stew’s charisma, the bifurcation tended to pull you out of the show.
Brown’s unpretentious but well-crafted new production at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts — which uses just two raw benches, as distinct from the big Broadway environments — is fully enveloping. That’s due in no small part to Brooks, who replaces Stew’s stiffer demeanor with a soulful and emotional performance that sets just the right tone of relaxed entertainment coupled with serious inquiry.
Brooks is matched by Steven Perkins, a phenomenally talented young actor playing the character known as Youth. It’s a tough assignment, given that the kid is supposed to be something of an Everyman and a cipher, albeit one who eventually comes to his senses.
While Perkins seems lost and naive when the show demands, he’s also deeply empathetic.
There’s another notable performance from Osiris Khepera, who plays a church minister whom Youth meets along his way. Khepera plays the character with the most ambivalence, and his performance dances very nicely along several edges. Solid supporting work comes from LaNisa Renee Frederick, Sharriese Hamilton, Aaron Holland and Whitney White.
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It also helps that the band is Brooks’ own band, The Uptown Sound. They play together a lot, and you can tell. You only wish the sound system, which was muddy at Monday’s opening, were their equal.
Most rock composers for the theater claim a variety of musical influences, but the score to “Passing Strange” — rich, melodic, zesty, insouciant — really does refract a remarkable variety of styles, from show tunes to punk rock. But the greatest strengths of this shrewdly self-deprecating piece remain its sardonic book and exceptionally witty lyrics (“We just had sex/ To keep it interesting we shuffle the decks/ We realize this might fog up your specs”).
To some extent, “Passing Strange, which was filmed in 2009 by Spike Lee, is a musical for people who think they don’t like musicals.
You can shoot holes in the material — the ending arrives very suddenly, and the stakes of a plot wherein a kid from a comfortable home decides to go and mess around in Europe for a bit, aren’t exactly earth-shattering. But the songs are consistently sweet (I’ve long loved a little ditty called “Keys”), and the execution here is far better than any narrative outline would suggest. Actually, this touching show is adept indeed at touching universals.
In the hands of the Bailiwick, it’s also a great night out.
Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib
When: Through May 29
Where: Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St.
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Tickets: $25-$35 at 312-733-6000 or bailiwickchicago.com