Public Programs And Events

The Eyes of the Entrepreneurs series is dedicated to empowering artists to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in taking responsibility for their art and their career. More than ever before, musicians are their own businesses. Each week we feature notable guest artists, who will discuss the paths they took in developing their vision and life in music, as well concepts like authenticity and integrity, skill development, community building, networking, and more.

Stew's work includes Passing Strange, for which he received the 2008 Tony award for Best Book of a Musical, and four other Tony nominations including Best Musical. He is also a two-time Obie award winner for Passing Strange (Best New Theater Piece/Best Ensemble). Spike Lee shot a feature film of the Broadway production of Passing Strange and it rocked selected theaters throughout the US before debuting on PBS’ Great Performances in 2009. It’s also 100% on Rotten Tomatoes so rent it now! 

Stew leads a band called Stew & The Negro Problem whose eight albums have survived much critical acclaim and numerous "Album of the Year" awards. Stew and Heidi Rodewald, his two-time Obie award-winning collaborator, created “Making It,” a song-cycle for rock band and video, which was commissioned by and performed at St. Ann's Warehouse in February, 2010.

In October of that same year “Brooklyn Omnibus,” another live song-cycle with video, was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and performed there. Stew is a member of the Sundance Institute Alumni Advisory Board. Stew was Artist-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison during Fall 2011 where he taught a class entitled “Song Factory” and was curator there of a weekly public series at the Mitchell Theater which featured leading New York performance and music artists. 

Stew and Ms. Rodewald have composed the score for Shakespeare on the Sound's “Midsummernight’s Dream”, “Othello”, “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Romeo and Juliet.” Winter 2012 saw the debut of Stew & Heidi's “California Analog” a live song cycle performed at UCLA Live's Royce Hall.

The Total Bent, a new musical performed at the Public Theater Lab in Winter 2012, goes into regular production in the 2013/14 season. Stew's work has been featured on NPR, most recently in an interview with Terry Gross for her Fresh Air program last January. January 2012 saw the release of the music from “Making It” by The Negro Problem on their new label “Tight Natural Productions.”   
Stew's work has been featured on multiple occasions at Lincoln Center, the United Nations, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Getty Museum, Hammer Museum, UCLA Live, Seattle Repertory Theater, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Stew is currently under commission at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, UCLA Live, Chicago MOCA, Studio Theatre Washington DC, St. Louis Repertory Theater, University of Iowa and the Public Theater of New York.

Stew and Heidi wrote "Gary Come Home" for the "Sponge Bob SquarePants" cartoon… which means much more than any of the above to some people.