''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and

Jordan McLean Jordan McLean (born 8 October 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He has previously played for ...

and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

nightclub The Shrine. The musical ran

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

for one month in 2008. It premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on November 23, 2009, and ran until January 2011. The Off-Broadway production won the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

s for Best Musical, Outstanding Choreographer for Bill T. Jones, and Outstanding Costume Design for Marina Draghici. The Broadway production received eleven 2010 Tony Award nominations and won

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

, Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical.

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time". Gibney's works as director include '' ...

's 2014 documentary film '' Finding Fela'' followed aspects of the Broadway musical, and drew heavily on interviews with Jones.

Productions

''Fela!'' opened at the Off-Broadway 37 Arts Theatre B on September 4, 2008, and closed on October 5, 2008. It was conceived by Bill T. Jones, Steve Hendel and Jim Lewis, directed and choreographed by Jones. The production was designed by Marina Draghici (scenery and costumes) Robert Wierzel (lighting) Peter Nigrini (projection) and Robert Kaplowitz (sound). The cast featured

Sahr Ngaujah Michael Sahr Ngaujah (born September 7, 1976) is an American theater actor and director. Not long after his parents arrival from Sierra Leone via UK, Sahr was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Within five years his family relocated to Atlanta. He spen ...

as Fela and Abena Koomson as Funmilayo, Fela's mother. The

production began previews at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on October 19, 2009, and opened officially on November 23. Again directed and choreographed by Jones, the cast included Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo as Fela,

Saycon Sengbloh Saycon Sengbloh (born October 23, 1977) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play and an Obie Award for Outstandi ...

and Michelle Williams as Sandra (Williams played Sandra in 2013) and Lillias White as Funmilayo.

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

replaced Lillias White as Funmilayo on September 14, 2010. The production closed on January 2, 2011. The Broadway production received eleven

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominations, including one for Best Musical, the most of any production that season, along with the revival of '' La Cage aux Folles''. For both productions, Kuti's music has been arranged and performed by the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based Antibalas and featuring the tenor saxophone soloist Stuart D. Bogie. The London production, staged at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre, began previews on November 6, 2010, with an opening night on November 16. It ran in repertoire with other National Theatre productions, and was simulcast internationally in 2011 as part of National Theatre Live. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo appeared in the cast, as well as

Dele Sosimi Bamidele Olatunbosun Sosimi (born 22 February 1963) known as Dele Sosimi, is a Nigerian-British musician. Biography Sosimi was born in Hackney, London, England. His career began when he joined Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's Egypt 80 (1979–86). Sosim ...

, Fela's former keyboard player, reprising his own role. In 2011 a production ran at Sadler's Wells in London's

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

. ''Fela!'' toured in North America. Its opening performance was held in September 2011 at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. The production opened in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

in October 2011 at the

Canon Theatre The Ed Mirvish Theatre, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, is a historic film and play theatre in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was initially known as the Pantages Theatre, then becam ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, starring Sahr Ngaujah and Adesola Osakalumi, with a scheduled run until November 2011. From November to December 2011 it played at the

Curran Theatre The Curran Theatre, located at 445 Geary Street between Taylor and Mason Streets in the Theatre District of San Francisco, California opened in February 1922, and was named after its first owner, Homer Curran. As of 2014, the theater is owned by ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. From December 2011 to January 2012 the production played in the Ahmanson Theater of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Music Center, where it returned for a second run in April and May 2013. The musical had a limited return engagement on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre from July 2012 to August 2012. The musical then continued on its world tour, playing in Australia, Japan, and a return to Africa, among other venues.

Musical numbers

; Act I * "Everything Scatter" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Iba Orisa" (Traditional Yoruba chant) – Ismael, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Hymn" – Company and Band * "Medzi Medzi" – Company and Band * "Manteca" – Company and Band * " I Got the Feelin'" (

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

) – Ismael and Company * "The Clock/Originality" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Yellow Fever/Ikoyi Blindness" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Trouble Sleep" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Funmilayo and Company * "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Funmilayo and Company * "Lover" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Sandra * "Upside Down" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Sandra and Company * " Expensive Shit" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Pipeline" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "I.T.T. (International Thief Thief)" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Kere Kay" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company ; Act II * "Water No Get Enemy" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Sandra and Company * "Egbe Mio" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Queens and Funmilayo * " Suffering and Smiling" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Queens * "

Zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Trouble Sleep" (Reprise) – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Funmilayo and Queens * "Na Poi" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Queens * " Sorrow, Tears and Blood" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Iba Orisa/Shakara" – Company and Band * "Rain" – Funmilayo and Company * "Coffin for Head of State" – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company * "Kere Kay" (Reprise) – Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Company

Response

The 2008 Off-Broadway production received generally positive reviews.

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' observed: David Rooney of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated: "What it lacks in structure and concision tmakes up for in heat, energy and sensuality. Like last season's ''

Passing Strange ''Passing Strange'' is a comedy-drama rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery, with strong elements of philosophical existentialism, metafiction (especially self-referential humor), and the artistic jou ...

'' and this summer's ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

'' revival, this dance-intensive bio-portrait aims to be less traditional musical theater than cathartic experience, lacing its communicative passion with infectious euphoria, rebellious anger and heartfelt despair." The review added: "There perhaps could be more texture in the central character portrait, providing deeper insight into the radical showman, and anyone expecting a detailed life story may be disappointed. Fela's questionable attitudes toward women are suggested rather than explored, and his later life, his ongoing political activity and death from AIDS-related illness in 1997 are absent. he actionis deftly integrated with Peter Nigrini's video projections to create a show that's invigoratingly messy, visceral and transporting." Les Gutman of the internet magazine ''CurtainUp'' was even more enthusiastic, calling the musical "one of the most visually complete theatrical experiences imaginable" and a "true treasure". The touring production received a positive review from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''′s J. Kelly Nestruck, who cited Sahr Ngaujah's performance for particular praise, as "channelling the life force of the titular singer" in a "sweat-soaked performance". Nestruck observed that

Disputes and lawsuits

In July 2010, New York photographer Marilyn Nance sought damages from the show, claiming the unauthorized use of one of her images. In November 2010, writer and historian Carlos Moore, author of the 1982 authorized biography of Fela Kuti, ''Fela, Fela! This Bitch of a Life!'', sued the producers of ''Fela!'' for copyright infringement, and asked the courts to close the show. In December 2011, the lawsuit was settled out of court, and it was agreed that all playbills and associated materials would henceforth bear an acknowledgement stating that the musical was inspired by Moore's book.

Plot

''Fela!'' takes place around 1977, at the height of Fela Kuti's influence as a composer and performer in Nigeria. Kuti was an originator of the

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

sound, and the musical opens with him addressing the audience from a concert at his club, the Afrika Shrine in Nigeria's largest city,

. Kuti indicates that the Afrika Shrine had become a hugely popular venue, and a gathering place for youth opposed to Nigeria's military dictatorship. As one critic describes much of the first half of the show: Kuti reveals how torn he is between his respect for the example set by his mother, Funmilayo, a teacher and Nigerian civil rights activist, and his quest for fame and sometimes hedonism. He gradually becomes more involved in open opposition to Nigeria's military regime, and his lyrics become overtly political. The regime responds to the provocation with increasingly violent retaliation. Kuti perseveres and releases ''

'', an international hit openly critical of the Nigerian government. The show depicts the army raid of Kuti's compound (a commune he called Kalakuta Republic), reportedly by 1000 soldiers, which followed the release of ''Zombie''. The raid culminates with the torture of Kuti, his wives and other commune residents, and the murder of his mother. The show concludes with a protest staged by Kuti in October 1979, accompanied by his family and members of the Young African Pioneers. The protest was held on the day before General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...

was to retire from the Nigerian presidency for the first time. Kuti held Obasanjo responsible for his mother's death, and publicly defied the regime once again with his protest, leaving a symbolic coffin in front of Obasanjo's residence at the Dodan army barracks. The show concludes with symbolic coffins being laid on the stage to protest injustices suffered by the people of Nigeria and throughout Africa.

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

Original Broadway production

Original London production

References

External links

Official websiteInternet Off-Broadway Database listing
*
Ovrtur.com Entry
{{Fela Kuti 2008 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Jukebox musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of Fela Kuti Biographical plays about musicians Biographical plays about activists Tony Award-winning musicals