By David Gordon

With the arrival of “Passing Strange” on Broadway, the concept of the “rock musical” has been taken up a few notches. Make that a lot of notches. “Passing Strange,” the story of a young African-American musician on a journey to find himself from Los Angeles to Amsterdam to Berlin, makes “Rent” and “Spring Awakening” look like child’s play. By the time the lights rise after the curtain call, it has effectively left its predecessors in the dust.

“Passing Strange” is the creation of Stew, a little-known indie-rocker with a cult following, who, since the early 1990s, has fronted a band called The Negro Problem. From a podium (which he leaves on occasion), Stew, who wrote the book, music and lyrics (along with Heidi Rodewald), narrates the story (the semi-autobiographical story), sings his alter-ego’s songs and, on occasion, gets the chance himself to rock-out on the guitar, bouncing up and down, back and forth, to get the crowd moving.

This is not your traditional Broadway musical, not by any stretch of the imagination. In creating “Passing Strange,” Stew, who in interviews has stated that he’s not much of a fan of musical theater, has defied all normal musical theater conventions. There’s a bare thread of a story, which I’ve already stated, but it’s more like a rock concert with a script, as well as very excellent cast and band.

The remarkably melodic and highly memorable score is straight, hardcore rock-and-roll, not bastardized for a Broadway stage. There’s a four-member band, made up of a keyboard, guitars and drums, playing the over-amplified music like the Belasco Theater is Madison Square Garden. Go in with earplugs, if you don’t like the driving sound of an electric guitar.

The terrific Daniel Breaker leads the cast as Stew’s alter-ego, named Youth. He doesn’t enjoy life in Los Angeles, and especially hates going to church with his Mother, named Mother, played by Eisa Davis. Then Youth has an epiphany-he doesn’t find God, he finds music. He gets high with the preacher’s son in a VW Bug and goes on a journey of self-discovery, first to Amsterdam, where he falls in love with Marianna (a strong de’Adre Aziza), until he leaves for the punk-performance art scene in Berlin. Rebecca Naomi Jones shines as Desi, the “den mother” of the performance-art clan.

The scathing take on performance art, led by Colman Domingo and Chad Goodridge, is both hilarious and very slow. If there’s one part which could be shortened, it’s this, at the top of the second act. But the show, overall, moves like lightning, thanks to Annie Dorsen’s energetic direction, Karole Armitage’s imaginative choreography and Stew and Heidi’s thrilling score.

The costumes by Elizabeth Hope Clancy are simple and sparing, as is the set by David Korins. In conjunction with lighting designer Kevin Adams, they’ve created a wall of neon lights unlike anything Broadway’s ever seen.

What makes “Passing Strange” so thrilling is the fact that it’s so intelligent. The title is a double edged-sword: passing refers to the color barriers, passing yourself off as white or black; and the full title stems from Othello’s courtship of Desdemona (“she swore, i’faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing strange”), there are repeated references to authors like Albert Camus and other intellectuals. Stew’s thoughtful, poetic lyrics are some of the strongest Broadway’s seen in years.

Youth is searching for something he only knows as “the real.” With the arrival of “Passing Strange” and its depth and utter originality, Broadway has found it. But it’s not going to be everyone’s favorite. If you’re going in expecting your grandmother’s musical theater, this isn’t the show for you. However, if you consider yourself to be a fan of theater and the new, experimental directions it’s taking, “Passing Strange” is a must see.

“Passing Strange” is a new Broadway musical about a young musician from Los Angeles who begins a journey of self-discovery. (broadwayworld.com)