Musical (2008)


Musique: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Paroles: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Livret: Bill T Jones
Production à la création:

FELA! is the electrifying and touching new Broadway musical that tells the true story of Fela Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician, whose soulful and stirring Afrobeat rhythms ignited a generation.
Inspired by his mother, a civil rights champion, he defied a corrupt and oppressive military government and devoted his life and music to the struggle for freedom and human dignity.
FELA! is a triumphant tale of courage, passion and love, featuring Fela Kuti’s captivating music and the visionary direction and choreography of Tony-Award winner Bill T. Jones.
His Passion Ignited a Generation.
His Music Fueled a Revolution.
His Legacy Inspires the World.
EVERYBODY SAY YEAH YEAH!

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

It's part musicology lesson as Kuti explains how he discovered the Afrobeat sound by pulling together the drums from West African highlife and the ragged guitars from James Brown with traditional call-and-response vocals. As a front-man-in-training rambling around London in the early 1960s, he absorbed the influences of the two different shades of cool represented by Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis.

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 (album), 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 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.


Fela! opened at the Off-Broadway 37 Arts Theatre B in New York City 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, and scenic and costume designs were by Marina Draghici. 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 on October 19, 2009 and opened officially on November 23. Again directed and choreographed by Jones, the cast includes Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo as Fela, Saycon Sengbloh as Sandra and Lillias White as Funmilayo. Patti LaBelle replaced Lillias White as Funmilayo on September 14, 2010. The production closed on January 2, 2011. The Broadway production received eleven Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical, the most of any production that season, along with the revival of La Cages aux Folles.

For both productions, Kuti's music has been arranged and performed by the Brooklyn-based Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra.

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 is running in repertoire with other National Theatre productions, and is to be simulcast internationally in 2011 as part of National Theatre Live. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo appear in the cast,[8] as well as Dele Sosimi, former keyboard player of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who is reprising his own role.

"FELA!" is now on tour in the United States. Its opening performance was held Sept. 16, 2011 at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington D.C. The tour's opening performance in Canada was on October 25, 2011 at the Canon Theatre in Toronto, starring Sahr Ngaujah and Adesola Osakalumi, with a scheduled run until November 6, 2011.


Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Fela!

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Fela!


Version 1

Fela! (2008-09-37 Arts Theatre B-Off Broadway)

Type de série: Original Off-Broadway
Théâtre: 37 Arts Theatre B (Broadway (Off) - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 1 mois
Nombre :
Première Preview : 04 September 2008
Première: 04 September 2008
Dernière: 05 October 2008
Mise en scène : Bill T Jones
Chorégraphie : Bill T Jones
Producteur :
Star(s) :

Version 2

Fela! (2009-10-Eugene O'Neill Theatre-Broadway)

Type de série: Original Broadway
Théâtre: Eugene O'Neill Theatre (Broadway - Etats-Unis)
Durée : 1 an 1 mois 1 semaine
Nombre : 34 previews - 463 représentations
Première Preview : 19 October 2009
Première: 23 November 2009
Dernière: 02 January 2011
Mise en scène : Bill T Jones
Chorégraphie : Bill T Jones
Producteur :
Star(s) :

Version 3

Fela! (2010-11-Olivier Theatre-National Theatre-London)

Type de série: Revival
Théâtre: National Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Salle : Olivier Theatre
Durée : 2 mois 1 semaine
Nombre :
Première Preview : 06 November 2010
Première: 16 November 2010
Dernière: 23 January 2010
Mise en scène : Bill T Jones
Chorégraphie : Bill T Jones
Producteur :
Star(s) :
Avec: Sahr Ngaujah (Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - Rolan Bell performs the role at certain performances), Paulette Ivory, Melanie Marshall, Lydie Alberto, Cindy Belliot, Nandi Bhebhe, Ricardo Coke Thomas, Scarlette Douglas, Jacqui Dubois, Poundo Gomis, Jazmine Jarret Thorpe, Aisha Jawando, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Nyron Levy, Ira Mandela Siobhan, Shelley-Ann Maxwell, Tamara McKoy Patterson, Catia Moto da Cruz, Pamela Okoroafor, Jermaine Rowe, Craig Stein. Jonathan Andre, Kwame Peter Crentsil, Sherinne Kayra Anderson, Thierry Picaut
Commentaires : The London staging began previews on November 6, 2010 with an opening night on November 16 and ran in repertoire with other National Theatre productions. There was a mixed reaction to this show: all agreed it had stunning choreography and a superb cast of singers and dancers, but for many its political message was lost in what was ultimately another “jukebox musical”. By avoiding an honest portrayal (in real life Fela had 27 wives and died of AIDS because of his refusal to use condoms) it was felt this was a whitewash and missed opportunity to create a serious and groundbreaking musical.
Presse : "Somehow Bill T Jones’s production proceeds in fits and starts without ever achieving a satisfying dramatic momentum. I longed for a stronger sense of narrative, and more depth beyond the showbiz razzle-dazzle" Charles Spencer for The Daily Telegraph

"It's a loud, brash, energetic spectacle...While musically impressive, the production could do with a stronger book. The story is flimsy and confused, and there's a lack of narrative drive." Henry Hitchings for The Evening Standard

"The best bits, for me, were those that make you feel on your pulses why Fela's music, with its sarcastic pidgin lyrics and obstinately insistent rhythms." Paul Taylor for The Independent

"It's a great story, and one told with enormous verve in Bill T Jones's kaleidoscopic production. The dancing is ecstatic, the music lifts the spirits, and the stage is alive with movement...I've never seen a show quite like it at the National. " Michael Billington for The Guardian

Version 4

Fela! (2011-07-Sadler's Wells Theatre)

Type de série: Revival
Théâtre: Sadler's Wells (Londres - Angleterre)
Salle : Theatre
Durée : 1 mois
Nombre :
Première Preview : 20 July 2011
Première: 26 July 2011
Dernière: 28 August 2011
Mise en scène : Bill T Jones
Chorégraphie : Bill T Jones
Producteur :
Star(s) :

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