Last fall I caught Bill T. Jones’ musical masterpiece Fela! just before it ended off Broadway. It was so excellent they brought it back, this time on Broadway! For all fans of Fela Kuti - the Nigerian king of Afro-beat - and even those less familiar, this exuberant production is a stimulating array of wild set design, costumes and dancing. Below, I’ve included a clip from a great review of the show - written by my friend Deji (who happens to be a distant relative of Fela!).
Fela’s story is larger than life, both too beautiful and too awful to imagine, and that is why it is fit for a musical. Fela!, playing at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, puts a celebratory spin on the musician’s immensely complex personality. The theatre and stage are loosely designed to resemble Fela’s own ‘Shrine’, his nightclub where he performed night after night until it was shut down by the government. The walls are draped with strange amalgams of the Yoruba spirit world and corrugated signs.
Fela Kuti grew up as Nigeria was loosening its colonial shackles, but he soon discovered that colonialism was replaced by equally cruel military dictatorships at the end of British rule in 1960. These many influences led Fela to become a successful band leader and social reformer. He would eventually become so incensed by the rampant corruption that he declared his own independent republic of Kalakuta and ran for president. He became an easy target for Nigerian leadership.
Fela never cut a deal with a major record label because he was afraid to dilute his message. He also didn’t write any endearing love songs like Bob Marley, so his pill was tougher to swallow. He made lots of love — he was a sexual icon who celebrated the sexual act — but his music eschewed sentimentalism. This may have also lessened his appeal.
Read the rest of the interview here!
Fela!
Written by Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones
Music by Fela Anikupalo Kuti
Choreography by Bill T. Jones
Performed by Antibalas Afrobeat
With Sahr Ngaugha, Lillias White, Saycon Sengbloh, Ismael Kouyate
Performing at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in New York
