PRLog (Press Release)– Mar 15, 2011– March 10, 2011
Fela! the hit Broadway musical is coming to Lagos, Nigeria to present a series of performa corsa nces at the prestigious EKO Expo Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos from the 20th to the 25th April. Celebrating the life of the Nigerian icon, this is alfa romeo the first visit of a Broadway musical to sub-Saharan Africa.
Upon their arrival in Lagos, however, the entire Fela! cast and band have insisted on paying homage to the subject of this award-winning musical, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and to his family by presenting a tribute concert version of the show dedicated to his memory at Fela's spiritual home, the New Africa Shrine.
Created by his children, Yeni and Femi Anikulapo Kuti to replace Fela's original Shrine which was destroyed shortly after his passing in 1997, the new venue is celebrating its tenth year as the supreme headquarters of Fela's world-renowned musical creation, Afrobeat, and as the focal point devoted to his legacy. Each year, countless distinguished artists and Fela aficionados have beat bmw en a path to the New Africa Shrine to pay their respects and to participate in the annual Felabrations which take place for one week around Fela's birthday in October.
The cast of Fela! have been evoking his name and depicting his extraordinary story nightly for the past 15 months at the Eugene O'Neill Theater on New York's Broadway. Until it's closing at the beginning of January the Tony Award-winning production, directed and choreographed by Bill T Jones, had been seen by some 400,000 delighted theatre-goers and enthusiastically saluted by the world's press.
"Broadway has never seen anything like this. There should be dancing in the streets!" Ben Brantley, New York Times
The Broadway production has received numerous awards, press coverage worldwide, high profile attendance (First Lady Michelle Obama, Kofi Annan, Spike Lee, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Denzel Washington, Beyoncé, Harry Belafonte and countless others) and financial backing and personal involvement of Sean "Jay Z" Carter and Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith. The aim of FELA! in Lagos is to unite and connect Africans in spirit and unity, to celebrate a globally acclaimed Nigerian Musician and cadillac to serve as a catalyst for cultural revival in Nigeria.
"The sheer exuberance of the performers makes this bio-musical about Nigerian activist, composer, and performer Fela Anikulapo Kuti an exciting and richly rewarding theatrical experience." D.Bacalzo,Theatermania
Telling the true story of the legendary Nigerian musician whose soulful Afrobeat rhythms and cutting lyrics ignited the spirit of empowerment and cultural awareness in a generation, the cast of the Fela musical are overjoyed and excited at this opportunity to 'bring Fela home'.
Some forty actors, dancers and musicians and as many technicians are bringing this hi-tech Broadway production to the EKO Expo Centre in a show that is unique to Nigeria. The entire company will be there on April 14 to present a concert version of the show to the Shrine's faithful audience, containing some of Fela's best known and best loved songs amongst a series of other events leading to the shows such as a Cocktail reception which will host the Cast, Crew, Sponsors and other dignitaries, a Red Carpet event to open the show, An Afrobeat concert to celebrate the coming of FELA! to Lagos.
If only Fela himself could be there to enjoy it!
"Fela! is more than a musical; it's an ecstatic phenomenon."Time Out New York
Everybody say Yeah Yeah!
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