Stew (musician)

Mark Stewart (born 1961), known by his stage name Stew is a Tony-award winning and critically acclaimed singer/songwriter from Los Angeles. In the early 1990s, he formed a band called The Negro Problem and later went on to release albums under his own name. His 2000 release "Guest Host" was named Album of the Year by "Entertainment Weekly" and his 2002 album, "The Naked Dutch Painter and Other Songs", repeated that feat. He toured in support of Arthur Lee in 2002 and in 2003 he was invited to take part in the Lincoln Center's American Songbook series of concerts.

Since 2004, he and his partner Heidi Rodewald have been producing a musical entitled "Passing Strange" with the support of the Sundance Institute and The Public Theater. In 2005, he reached possibly his largest audience ever when he wrote and performed "Gary's Song" for the "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode "Have You Seen This Snail? (Where's Gary?)". In 2006, he and Rodewald continued to produce "Passing Strange" as well as working on a film project with The Sundance Institute. "Passing Strange" had successful runs at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, in the fall of 2006, and off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York City during the spring of 2007. It received critical praise from both the "New York Times" and "Variety" and opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre in February 2008 under the aegis of producer Liz McCann and the Shubert Organization.

Discography

With The Negro Problem

*Post Minstrel Syndrome (1997)
*Joys and Concerns (1999)
*Welcome Black (2002)
*Blackboot (2003)

As Stew

*Guest Host (2000)
*Sweetboot (2001)
*The Naked Dutch Painter ...and other songs (2002)
*Something Deeper Than These Changes (2003)

With The Lullabies

*Lullabies' Lullaby (2003)

As Producer

*At Apogee (2004) by Mr. Smolin
*The Crumbling Empire Of White People (2007) by Mr. Smolin

External links

* [http://www.stewsongs.com/ Stew's official website]
* [http://passingstrangeonbroadway.com/ Broadway Production of Passing Strange official website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:9eavqj4uojka~T00 All-Music Guide entry for The Negro Problem]
* [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:vqfm96oofep2 All-Music Guide entry for Stew]
* [http://www.passingstrangeonline.com/ Passing Strange official website]
* [http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-passing22oct22,0,4337858.story Los Angeles Times article on Passing Strange]
* [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/119 Stew sings "Black Men Ski" at TED2006]
* [http://stewsez.artlung.com/ Stew Sez (Stew's blog)]
* [http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=negro_problem Trouser Press Entry for The Negro Problem]