Pass Over
Pass Over is a play written by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, first premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago during the summer of 2017.[1][2] Drawing from the biblical Exodus story and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, it centers on two young Black men named Moses and Kitch who linger on an urban street corner, trapped in a cycle of idleness, banter, and peril from police encounters and street violence, while dreaming of escape to a "Promised Land."[3][4][5]
The work addresses themes of systemic racism, existential stagnation, and the Black American experience through profane dialogue and surreal interruptions, including visits from a white passerby and a reverend figure.[6][7] A filmed version directed by Spike Lee debuted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and streamed on Amazon Prime, expanding its reach beyond stage audiences.[8] Its 2021 Broadway production at the August Wilson Theatre, directed by Danya Taymor with actors Jon Michael Hill, Namir Small and Ryan Donowho, was the first play to open there post-COVID theater shutdowns, running from August to October and earning acclaim for its visceral energy alongside critique for its uneven structure and relentless intensity.[9][10][1]
Original Play
Development and Writing
Antoinette Nwandu began writing Pass Over in late 2013 to early 2014, while teaching public speaking and theater at Borough of Manhattan Community College.[11][12] The play originated as a response to the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman, through which Nwandu sought to channel collective grief and rage experienced by African Americans.[13][12] Her students—young Black and Brown men from areas like East New York, the Bronx, and Brooklyn—provided loose inspiration for the central characters, informing their vernacular dialogue and rhythmic speech patterns.[11] Nwandu's writing process emphasized sound, rhythm, and improvisation, beginning with character voices captured in broken lines with minimal punctuation to mimic natural speech and allow for actor flexibility.[11] Early drafts featured iterative "takes" akin to acting rehearsals, evolving through multiple versions with varying endings; one character was absent in initial iterations, and the tone was predominantly tragic, culminating in a death attributed to systemic racism.[11][12] The script underwent workshops, including a key session at Cherry Lane Theatre in April 2016, which facilitated refinements ahead of its Steppenwolf Theatre Company premiere later that year.[11] Subsequent revisions occurred during rehearsals for Steppenwolf's production, incorporating three temporal layers—biblical, slavery-era, and contemporary—to deepen the narrative structure.[11] For the 2021 Broadway transfer, Nwandu rewrote the ending to allow the protagonists to survive, shifting focus from tragedy to Black resilience and joy, influenced by the 2020 killing of George Floyd, racial justice protests, and her personal experiences including a miscarriage and marital dissolution.[13][12] This evolution reflected Nwandu's intent to prioritize healing for Black audiences over mere depiction of brutality.[12]Inspirations and Biblical Parallels
Antoinette Nwandu cited Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1953) as a primary structural influence, adapting its depiction of two figures trapped in repetitive, existential limbo—marked by banter, games, and futile anticipation—to portray the protagonists' entrapment on an urban street corner.[11][13] She described Beckett's work as instrumental in drawing her to theater, enabling her to infuse Pass Over with absurd, cyclical dialogue that underscores themes of stagnation and unfulfilled longing.[14] The play originated in 2012 as Nwandu's response to the killing of Trayvon Martin on February 26 of that year, transforming personal and communal grief into a meditation on Black aspirations amid systemic violence.[13] The biblical Book of Exodus provides the core mythic framework, with Nwandu explicitly framing Pass Over as a reflection on its liberation narrative, contrasting its hopeful trajectory against Godot's despair.[11] The protagonist Moses embodies the biblical figure who confronts Pharaoh and leads the enslaved Israelites from Egypt, here reimagined as a street-wise leader yearning to escape modern oppression toward a "promised land" of abundance, evoked through repeated invocations of milk and honey from Exodus 3:8 and 3:17.[11][15] His companion Kitch serves as a foil, akin to the doubting masses in Exodus, bound by habit yet complicit in their shared stasis.[11] Nwandu structures the drama across three temporal layers rooted in Exodus motifs: ancient Egyptian bondage, antebellum plantation slavery (where the men could represent fugitives seeking passage north), and contemporary urban poverty, each illustrating cycles of subjugation and failed exodus.[11] The title Pass Over directly references the Passover ritual in Exodus 12, commemorating the tenth plague where the angel of death spared Hebrew homes marked with lamb's blood, precipitating Pharaoh's release of the slaves—an event symbolizing divine protection and transition from peril.[15] The character Mister, a white interloper offering deceptive hospitality, parallels Pharaoh's false accommodations or the biblical tempter, culminating in a betrayal that echoes the plagues' judgment on oppressors.[14] This biblical integration draws from African American traditions, including spirituals that recast Exodus as allegory for emancipation—such as "Go Down, Moses"—and Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons invoking Pharaoh's downfall to critique segregation, which Nwandu credits for embedding hope within communal resilience.[11] Unlike Godot's absent savior, Pass Over's arc resolves with redemptive possibility, aligning with Exodus's covenantal promise and Nwandu's aim to affirm healing over nihilism.[11][13]Early Productions and Broadway Run
Pass Over received its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, with previews beginning on June 1, 2017, and performances running through July 9, 2017, in the Upstairs Theatre.[16][17] Directed by Danya Taymor, who replaced Liesl Tommy in the role, the production featured a cast including Jon Michael Hill.[16][18] A filmed version of this Steppenwolf staging, directed by Spike Lee, premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Amazon Prime Video on April 20, 2018.[8] The play made its New York debut as part of Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 program at the Claire Tow Theater, opening on June 18, 2018, following previews, and extended its limited run through July 22, 2018.[19][20][21] Retaining Taymor's direction, the production starred Jon Michael Hill as Kitch, Namir Smallwood as Moses, and Ryan Hallahan in the roles of Mister and the Police Officer.[22] This staging marked an evolution from the Chicago original, with adjustments to the script reflecting ongoing refinements by playwright Antoinette Nwandu. Pass Over transferred to Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre under Lincoln Center Theater's production banner, beginning previews on August 4, 2021, and officially opening on August 22, 2021, as the first straight play to return to Broadway following the COVID-19 theater shutdown in March 2020.[9][10] The limited engagement concluded on October 10, 2021, after 49 performances.[9][23] Directed again by Taymor, the cast included returning performers Hill as Kitch and Smallwood as Moses, with Gabriel Ebert replacing Hallahan in the supporting roles of Mister and Police Officer.[24] Nwandu substantially revised the play for this mounting, extending its length, broadening its tonal range, and altering the ending to emphasize themes of healing and hope amid its critique of systemic violence.[13][6]Film Adaptation
Development and Pre-Production
The filmed version of Pass Over originated from the play's successful world premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which ran from June 8 to July 30, 2017, under the stage direction of Danya Taymor. Spike Lee, drawn to the production's fusion of biblical motifs, existentialism, and contemporary urban violence, initiated the project to capture it cinematically without altering the live performance dynamic.[25] The collaboration between Lee and the Steppenwolf team emphasized preserving the play's raw theatrical energy, with Lee serving as film director in tandem with Taymor's stage oversight.[26] Pre-production was expedited and discreet to maintain performance authenticity, with filming arranged over a single weekend in late November 2017 at the Steppenwolf Theatre.[27] Lee coordinated an invitation-only audience comprising community groups and students, facilitated in part by Chicago activist Father Michael Pfleger, to replicate a genuine live atmosphere while avoiding external pressures that could influence the actors.[28] The secrecy surrounding the shoot—kept from the cast and broader public until after completion—aimed to prevent self-conscious adjustments, ensuring the capture reflected the production's organic rhythm as experienced during its Chicago run.[29] Technical preparations focused on multi-camera setups for intimate angles, diverging from standard proscenium filming by incorporating Lee's signature mobility, such as dolly shots, to enhance emotional proximity without disrupting the stage action.[30] Antoinette Nwandu, the playwright, described the filming as a serendipitous extension of the play's mission to reach wider audiences beyond theater walls, aligning with Lee's history of adapting stage works like Passing Strange.[29] No script revisions occurred; the film retained the 90-minute runtime and dialogue intact from the Steppenwolf staging, starring Jon Michael Hill as Moses and Ryan Hallahan alternating as Kitch and Mister.[31] Post-capture editing by Lee refined the footage for cinematic flow, premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival before Amazon Studios' release.[25] This approach prioritized fidelity to the live event over narrative reconfiguration, distinguishing it from conventional screen adaptations.[32]Casting and Principal Crew
The film adaptation of Pass Over retained the principal cast from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2017 Chicago production, preserving the intimacy of the stage performance in its cinematic translation. Jon Michael Hill portrays Moses, the more aspirational and biblically named character trapped in a cycle of street life; Julian Parker plays Kitch (short for "Kitchen"), his more fatalistic companion; Ryan Hallahan embodies the dual roles of Mister and Master, representing white liberal condescension and historical oppression; and Blake DeLong appears as Ossifer, the police officer embodying institutional violence.[33] [34]| Actor | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Jon Michael Hill | Moses |
| Julian Parker | Kitch |
| Ryan Hallahan | Mister / Master |
| Blake DeLong | Ossifer |