''Sarafina!'' is a South African

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

by Mbongeni Ngema and

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

depicting students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. It was also adapted into a 1992 film starring

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

and Leleti Khumalo. ''Sarafina!'' premiered on Broadway on 28 January 1988, at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 48th Street (Manhattan), West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater ...

, and closed on 2 July 1989, after 597 performances and 11 previews. The musical was conceived and directed by Mbongeni Ngema, who also wrote the book. He wrote the music and lyrics alongside Hugh Masekela. The play was first presented at The Market Theatre,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, in June 1987. The cast included Leleti Khumalo as Sarafina. Leleti Khumalo received a

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 ...

nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, as well as an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for her

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

portrayal of the title character. The production was also nominated for the Tony Awards for: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography, and Best Direction of a Musical. The show presents a school uprising similar to the

Soweto uprising The Soweto uprising, also known as the Soweto riots, was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from various schools began to p ...

of 16 June 1976. A narrator introduces several characters, among them the schoolgirl activist Sarafina. Things get out of control when policemen shoot several pupils at the school. Nevertheless, the musical ends with a cheerful farewell show of pupils leaving school, which takes most of the second act. The production of the play was chronicled in the documentary film ''Voices of Sarafina!''. The album of ''Sarafina!'' includes the following songs: # "Sarafina!" # "Lord's Prayer" # "Nkonyane Kandaba" # "Freedom is coming tomorrow" # "Sabela" # "Sechaba" # "Safa Saphel' Isizwe" # "Vuma Dlozi Lame" # "One more time"

External links

Internet Broadway database

"Sarafina Performance at the Safaricom GEM awards"
''East African Chronicles''. {{Authority control 1987 musicals All-Black cast Broadway shows Broadway musicals Musicals set in South Africa Musicals set in the 1970s South African musicals Works about apartheid in South Africa