First show, first nomination? Strange
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, June 13, 2008
Daniel Breaker, above right with Stew, plays "Youth" in Stew's "Passing Strange."
Audience members don't get a curtain call but, says actor Daniel Breaker, they're largely responsible for "Passing Strange's" success.
"We rely on the audience more than any show out there," he says. "We break that fourth wall down and keep it down."
The result? A musical unlike any other on Broadway.
Telling the story of a young man as he searches for artistic inspiration, "Passing Strange" uses all sorts of theatrical devices to connect. It's part rock concert, part reader's theater, part improvisation.
"Somebody called it a punk rock cabaret musical," Breaker says, "and that's about as close as you can get to describing it. People who hate musicals love the show. People who love musicals love the show."
Starring Stew -- a veteran musician with a huge following in Europe -- the musical tells his life's story. Sort of.
"Stew calls it 'autobiographical fiction,'" Breaker says. "Some things happened to him. Some things he saw happen."
Breaker, a Kansas native who grew up in Moline, Ill., is cast as the young man going through the artistic epiphany. He's not playing Stew -- exactly -- but he does use Stew mannerisms to make the connection.
"Much of it is me as an awkward kid," Breaker says. "One of the first things I did physically was put my shoulders forward. I hid my heart that way and that opened the character for me." He also used references from his niece -- "she had all these mannerism when she was 10. Since the character is called 'Youth' I was able to pull from as many different references as possible. That was great for a coming-of-age story."
For his work, Breaker has been nominated for a Tony. "There was already a lot of Tony buzz before the actual announcement and I was getting more and more nervous. My parents were calling -- 'When are the Tony nominations coming out?' I couldn't sleep the night before. My wife made me breakfast that I didn't eat."
When the news finally landed, Breaker was ecstatic. "It's like nothing I could imagine happening. Luckily, my wife grounds me and keeps me safe."
The year, he says, has been a whirlwind one. He made his Broadway debut, he got married and, soon, he'll be a father. "In July, I'm going to cure cancer," he jokes. "It's so bizarre."
While attending Julliard, Breaker was bent on pursuing a dramatic career. Shakespeare was his thing. "I hadn't done musicals since community theater in Illinois. And now I'm singing and dancing and playing an electric guitar."
Unlike Shakespeare's work, "Passing Strange" feeds off spontaneity. Stew -- who serves as the show's narrator -- reacts to the people who come to see the show. "It's a stage manager's nightmare," Breaker says. "But it's a great lesson in ease. Whatever can happen, happens. Stew is not a playwright, he's a rocker. He's used to doing a different show each night."
If a young crowd is in the theater, Stew adapts.
"We've had a mix of people come to the show," Breaker says. "You see a lot of different races and economic backgrounds. You have traditional theatergoers -- who also want to see Patti LuPone in 'Gypsy' -- and you have college students who have been back five, six, 13, 17 times. We call them 'Strange' heads. It's what we wanted -- a mixed bag of people."
Because "Passing Strange" is reaching out to new audiences, it's considered the "Rent" of another generation. It's probably not Stew's last foray into theater, Breaker says, but it is a way for nontheatergoers to embrace the art form.
"Explain it?" Breaker says. "It's almost impossible to explain...but it is unique and refreshing."
Nominated for seven Tonys, "Passing Strange" could win the biggie -- Best Musical.
And, then, there's that Best Featured Actor in a Musical prize.
"I'm not preparing a speech," Breaker says. "I'm just going to wing it. But I don't really think I'm going to win."
Instead, he appreciates the attention, hopes he gets more work and waits for the day when the workload will subside.
"Right now, it's very hectic. We're doing a lot of publicity and we've got eight shows a week."
Other than that, not much else has changed. Despite the attention, the 28-year-old says, "I'm still Daniel."
"We rely on the audience more than any show out there," he says. "We break that fourth wall down and keep it down."
The result? A musical unlike any other on Broadway.
Telling the story of a young man as he searches for artistic inspiration, "Passing Strange" uses all sorts of theatrical devices to connect. It's part rock concert, part reader's theater, part improvisation.
"Somebody called it a punk rock cabaret musical," Breaker says, "and that's about as close as you can get to describing it. People who hate musicals love the show. People who love musicals love the show."
Starring Stew -- a veteran musician with a huge following in Europe -- the musical tells his life's story. Sort of.
"Stew calls it 'autobiographical fiction,'" Breaker says. "Some things happened to him. Some things he saw happen."
Breaker, a Kansas native who grew up in Moline, Ill., is cast as the young man going through the artistic epiphany. He's not playing Stew -- exactly -- but he does use Stew mannerisms to make the connection.
"Much of it is me as an awkward kid," Breaker says. "One of the first things I did physically was put my shoulders forward. I hid my heart that way and that opened the character for me." He also used references from his niece -- "she had all these mannerism when she was 10. Since the character is called 'Youth' I was able to pull from as many different references as possible. That was great for a coming-of-age story."
For his work, Breaker has been nominated for a Tony. "There was already a lot of Tony buzz before the actual announcement and I was getting more and more nervous. My parents were calling -- 'When are the Tony nominations coming out?' I couldn't sleep the night before. My wife made me breakfast that I didn't eat."
When the news finally landed, Breaker was ecstatic. "It's like nothing I could imagine happening. Luckily, my wife grounds me and keeps me safe."
The year, he says, has been a whirlwind one. He made his Broadway debut, he got married and, soon, he'll be a father. "In July, I'm going to cure cancer," he jokes. "It's so bizarre."
While attending Julliard, Breaker was bent on pursuing a dramatic career. Shakespeare was his thing. "I hadn't done musicals since community theater in Illinois. And now I'm singing and dancing and playing an electric guitar."
Unlike Shakespeare's work, "Passing Strange" feeds off spontaneity. Stew -- who serves as the show's narrator -- reacts to the people who come to see the show. "It's a stage manager's nightmare," Breaker says. "But it's a great lesson in ease. Whatever can happen, happens. Stew is not a playwright, he's a rocker. He's used to doing a different show each night."
If a young crowd is in the theater, Stew adapts.
"We've had a mix of people come to the show," Breaker says. "You see a lot of different races and economic backgrounds. You have traditional theatergoers -- who also want to see Patti LuPone in 'Gypsy' -- and you have college students who have been back five, six, 13, 17 times. We call them 'Strange' heads. It's what we wanted -- a mixed bag of people."
Because "Passing Strange" is reaching out to new audiences, it's considered the "Rent" of another generation. It's probably not Stew's last foray into theater, Breaker says, but it is a way for nontheatergoers to embrace the art form.
"Explain it?" Breaker says. "It's almost impossible to explain...but it is unique and refreshing."
Nominated for seven Tonys, "Passing Strange" could win the biggie -- Best Musical.
And, then, there's that Best Featured Actor in a Musical prize.
"I'm not preparing a speech," Breaker says. "I'm just going to wing it. But I don't really think I'm going to win."
Instead, he appreciates the attention, hopes he gets more work and waits for the day when the workload will subside.
"Right now, it's very hectic. We're doing a lot of publicity and we've got eight shows a week."
Other than that, not much else has changed. Despite the attention, the 28-year-old says, "I'm still Daniel."
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