SPIKE Lee’s “Passing Strange: The Movie” is basically canned musical theater, but this is one Tony-winning Broadway show that’s well worth preserving and seeing.
The singularly named Stew (formerly Mark Stewart) serves as the musical narrator for his rousing autobiographical show, which depicts his younger self (Daniel Breaker) fleeing Los Angeles, his long-suffering mother (Eisa Davis) and his church choir to find himself in Europe.
This search takes him to a druggy, ambisexual commune in Amsterdam and a radical artist collective in Berlin — whose members are nevertheless bourgeois enough to spend the holidays with their families.
“Passing Strange” has a terrific rock score by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, who is part of the onstage band. Lee has taped the show’s last two performances, and also separately staged close-ups and choreographed camera moves to make things more cinematic.
Running time: 135 minutes. Not rated (profanity, drugs). At the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue and West Third Street. Also available on demand.