Ty Taylor, Britton Smith and Saycon Sengbloh will lead a 20th-anniversary production of Passing Strange at Pasadena Playhouse, running November 4–29 with opening night on Sunday, November 8.
Taylor, lead singer of the band Vintage Trouble, plays the Narrator. Smith plays Youth. Sengbloh, a Tony nominee for Eclipsed, plays Mother. The ensemble is Brittany Campbell, Johnny Laveie, Devere Rogers and the singer-songwriter Tanerélle.
The production is the musical’s Los Angeles premiere. Zhailon Levingston directs. He shared the 2026 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical with Bill Rauch for Cats: The Jellicle Ball.
Stew wrote the book and lyrics, and the music with Heidi Rodewald. The semi-autobiographical show follows a young man from South Central Los Angeles on a long search for himself across continents. It opened on Broadway in 2008, received seven Tony nominations and won one, for Stew’s book. It was created with Annie Dorsen, who directed the original staging.
The creative team is Greg Nabours (music director), Tislarm Bouie (choreography), Lawrence Moten (scenic), Devario Simmons (costumes), Jared Sayeg (lighting) and Andrea Allmond (sound). The production is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
The first preview is Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30pm.
