Fela show takes Broadway by storm

Fela was not expected to be such a success on Broadway

 

A musical about Nigeria's most famous musician Fela Kuti is proving to be a surprising hit on Broadway, despite the lack of big stars or hit songs. There is a moment in the show when Fela encounters an African-American woman named Sandra on a visit to Los Angeles. As they share their respective experiences - she as a child of the American civil rights movement, he as an activist against his country's military dictatorship - their flirtatious, politically-charged banter heats up.

FELA KUTI Founder of "afrobeat" - a fusion of African high-life, jazz and funk Spoke up for Nigeria's poor and against the country's military regime Married 27 women simultaneously, then adopted a rotation system where he kept only 12 at a time

Soon they look admiringly at one another with the same realisation: "We have a lot to learn from each other." To a New York audience including many Africans and African-Americans, the scene was sublime. After the laughs subsided, one could almost hear the smiles.

The play, titled simply Fela! is full of such moments. During the course of a free-flowing two hours and 20 minutes, the audience is treated to an innovative mix of biography, music and dance. The stage, set up as an approximation of the Shrine, his Lagos nightclub and community centre, is where Fela - who is played by two actors - narrates his journeys to far-away lands both geographical and spiritual.

Fela's journey to the spiritual world was particularly enjoyable for Kunle Ade, a Nigerian musician and fashion-designer based in New York's hip Fort Greene neighbourhood. "When Fela chants, it is really spiritual and deep. The producers knew what they were doing, and respected the material enough to guide it a certain way," he says.

Read the complete report by  Daniel Morris for BBC Focus on Africa Magazine