FELA! ON BROADWAY A MUST-SEE
All photos by Monique Carboni.
If you’re in NY or are coming here at all for the holidays, definitely do not miss FELA! It’s honestly one of the best musicals — if not the best — I’ve ever seen (and I don’t often like musicals!)
It’s a very “real” musical in that it takes place in a night-club in Lagos, Nigeria — called The Shrine — founded by real-life Nigerian composer, musician, founder of Afrobeat, and human rights activist Fela Kuti (1938-1997). It’s the late 1970s and he and his dancers (mostly female) perform their unique — and fascinating — blend of what seems to me traditional African, Reggae, and funk, and you’re part of the night-club audience!
Through the songs — most of them are actual music by Kuti — Kuti tells his story, and that of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was killed by the police just months earlier, when they raided Kuti’s compound. Funmilayo was a feminist and human rights activist who was vocal in her opposition to colonialism, and to the corrupt government, and her death, along with the attack on Kuti’s compound, were politically-motivated.
It’s hard to understand the exact political problems in Kuti’s Nigeria — I’d think...
Related Posts
- Fela on Broadway
- Broadway Dance Review: To All Fela-Fanatics… Don’t Just Go See FEL
- Scoop: Fela! On Broadway- Hip hop & Hollywood A-Listers to Add Boost
- The Brides of Fela
- “100 Years of Broadway” CANCELLED; Guild Reception still on for 6pm!
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
