On Passing Strange. Stew,

here, shortly after a performance of "Passing Strange."

Stew, (please see artbookschildren post, yesterday), was discussing...outside of the Public Theater...the play, it's genesis, Berlin, and a few other topics that made me wish I had a pencil and paper or a flip or something, for God's sake.

And now, I see, Spike Lee will be filming Stew's glorious work of art. Cool. Looks like it was announced yesterday evening? Hey, remember: Stew won that highly coveted "artbookschildren Sublime Art of NYC" award first. (Okay, so he also snagged a Tony a few weeks ago, too...)

Go, Stew! Thanks for all the art.

Just thought of the things I loved best about Stew's post-show comments: that he & his collaborator, Hiedi, refused, at every stage, to change the production for anybody else...Stew noted that his producer acknowledged the genius of this/was it after Tony Tony Tony or before? I can't quite remember...And Stew mentioned that he looked forward to returning to Berlin and that Broadway was a happenstance, and not in the original plan. Or something like that. Oh, to have had a flip in my pocket. Made do with my little red Kodak.

The important thing: This is Why the Show is ART, pure and simple, ART like the stuff at the Metropolitan or the MOMA or in the vitrine of the New York Public Library. Stew and Heidi stuck to the vision. They didn't compromise, equivocate, or sell out: they didn't forget that the journey was the thing, not the destination. Let's hope Spike only serves to enhance this process, and stays true to the vision. Glancing at this article, I think we have a chance.

And thanks, Nathaniel and Viv, for steering us to the right theater. Genius.