Le monde des musicals

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!