Theater is experiential in nature. It’s an act that can’t be captured and reproduced, even though cast albums and filmed shows try to do that. However, every once in a while a show comes along that takes the experience to a new level. Fela is one of those shows.
Fela tells the story of Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti, pioneer of Afrobeat, a combination of American funk and traditional African music. Kuti’s music was fiercely political, criticizing the militaristic dictatorships of his homeland and capitalist regimes.
If you look at the show from a purely structural point of view, Fela is pretty standard. It’s purely biographical, with Kuti (Kevin Mambo and Sahr Ngaujah alternate in the role) narrating his life. The audience learns of Kuti’s upbringing from his feminist mother (Lillias White), his education in England, his run-ins with the law, the many, many women in his life, and his musical journey.
But if you view the show from a seat in the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, it is anything but standard. Like Hair, Fela is not about plot as much as it’s about music, dance, and rhythm. It’s an explosion of light, color, sound, and dance that is full of verve and energy. The show is quite unlike any piece of Broadway theater I’ve ever seen before.
It certainly helps to have legendary dancer Bill T. Jones behind it all. Jones was a Tony winner in 2007 for Spring Awakening, but his list of awards and accolades goes far beyond that. Jones conceived, directed, and choreographed the show, and helped write the book with Jim Lewis.
From the show’s beginning, Fela impacts the audience with its distinctive setting. As you enter the theater, there is an Afrobeat band playing on stage. The entire theater is decorated in African art and political signage, which represents The Shrine, the club where Kuti preached to his followers and put on musical performances.
In addition to the set design, the mood and story are conveyed through some brilliant projection elements. The design aspects of the show, including these elements but also dynamic lighting, sound, costume, and make-up are all first-rate. It amounts to a glorious sensory overload.
The show does skim over some crucial aspects of Kuti’s life, including his death from AIDS. He was often labeled as a misogynist; the fact that he had 12 wives is touched upon but never explored.
Fela got its start last year in a short Off-Broadway run, where Ngaujah played the title role. The move to Broadway was surprising to many because, despite a few crowd-pleasing elements, it’s hardly a commercial piece of theater. You shouldn’t be surprised if you see a few previously occupied seats empty after the intermission.
A show that’s not traditional is hard enough to market to a mainstream audience. When the show’s main character is a polygamist, socialist, Nigerian musician whose main political influence was a staunchly feminist mother and the Black Panthers, it’s a pretty uphill struggle to say the least.
To help jumpstart ticket sales, Jay-Z along with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith were brought on as producers. It’s a move that other somewhat non-commercial shows might employ in the future, as Elton John was also recently brought aboard the producing team of Next Fall, a new play about a gay couple.
So far, the Broadway season has been thin on new musicals. Other than Fela, Memphis is the only one that has opened. And with the horizon relatively uninteresting–new musicals this spring basically include two revues, two jukebox musicals, a dance show, and the tepidly-received Addams Family–it looks like Fela will be the favorite for Best Musical Tony. It would be well deserved, since the show is hypnotizing. Give yourself up to Fela.
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Fela plays at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, located at 230 West 49th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue).
Two hours prior to the show, a limited number of student rush tickets are available for only $27. There is a limit of one ticket per valid student ID, cash only. Tickets are regularly priced $55.00 to $122.00.
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