''Fela!'' is a
jukebox musical
A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical.
Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...
with a book by
Bill T. Jones
William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952), is an American Choreography, choreographer, director, author and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The company's home in Manhattan. J ...
and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer
Fela Kuti
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...
, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and
Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
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 ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
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 tha ...
for one month in 2008. It premiered on
Broadway at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The theater was designed by Her ...
on November 23, 2009, and ran until January 2011. The Off-Broadway production won the
Lucille Lortel Awards 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,
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 ''T ...
'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 as Fela and Abena Koomson as
Funmilayo, Fela's mother.
The
Broadway production began previews at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The theater was designed by Her ...
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 and
Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to:
* Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar
* Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child
* Michelle Williams (actr ...
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 Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
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 a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
-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
National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London. It broadcasts live, by satellite, performances of their productions (and those of other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world.
About
I gre ...
. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo appeared in the cast, as well as
Dele Sosimi, Fela's former keyboard player, reprising his own role. In 2011 a production ran at
Sadler's Wells in London's
Islington
Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
.
''Fela!'' toured in North America. Its opening performance was held in September 2011 at the
Harman Center for the Arts in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
The production opened in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in October 2011 at the
Canon Theatre in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, 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 b ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. From December 2011 to January 2012 the production played in the
Ahmanson Theater of the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
) – 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: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
" – 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 t ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' observed:
David Rooney of ''
Variety'' stated: "What it lacks in structure and concision
tmakes up for in heat, energy and sensuality. Like last season's ''
Passing Strange'' 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 ...
'' 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 Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
''′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 (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...
sound, and the musical opens with him addressing the audience from a concert at his club, the Afrika Shrine in Nigeria's largest city,
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
. 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 ''
Zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
'', 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 (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
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
Cultural depictions of Fela Kuti
Biographical plays about activists
Tony Award–winning musicals
Biographical musicals about musicians
Musicals set in Nigeria
Musicals set in the 1970s