September 4, 2008
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The musical titled Fela based on the life of Nigerian great Afro beat music creator. Fela Anikulapo Kuti is currently playing Off-Broadway at 37 Arts in New York City.
It was conceived, directed and choreographed by Bill T Jones who won a Tony award in 2007 for his choreography work on a Broadway musical called "Spring Awakening" an adaptation of an 1896 play of the same title by underrated German playwright known as Frank Wedekind.
The book of "Fela! A New Musical" was by Jim Lewis and Bill T Jones. While the arrangements was by Aaron Johnson and Antibalas group.
It was noteworthy that the show begun with the background sound of Fela's captivating music, the band members of Fela was comprised of young men and women that appears on the stage singing and dancing. Fela character played by Sahr Ngaujah joined them on the stage as well. He was marvelous, he gave an adept and irresistible performance which is a typical trademark associated with the real Fela. We heard the jokes, anecdotes, and spoofs of the oppressive and corrupt Nigerian government and of its ilk. He shocked the audience when he asked them to stand up and join him in singing. It was the most exciting and climax of the first act.
Fela character tells a lot of stories; he started by narrating his life stories, family histories, and his own musical journeys. For example, we learned how he was sent to London to study medicine by his parents and how he changed his mind to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music.
He talked about how he formed his band koola Lobitos, a fusion of American Jazz, funk and West African Highlife. How he married his first wife Remilekun, and how he was trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. We knew the Fela character was addressing an American audience when he said: "I worked for NBC." "Our NBC Not yours NBC."
He poked fun at some of the songs of his grandfather JJ Ransome Kuti a notable lyricist that he said were influenced by colonial masters. He rejected his own Christian upbringing and Anglicanism roots of his father Reverend Oludotun Ransome Kuti.
There was too much back and forth in Fela's character story often repetitive. A subtext would have been helpful.
By the way, we learned of the closeness of the relationship that is between Fela and his mother Funmilayo. He talked in length of her extraordinary accomplishments as the Pan-Africanist Nationalist feminist icon; and the number of firsts she had, such as the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria and the first African woman to visit the Communist China.
Unfortunately, Fela's mother played by Abena Koomson was too remote and distant from Fela and the other performers on stage. Her isolation just didn't elevate the message she tried to convey. Although we could hear her singing "Trouble E Dey Find You" Trouble Sleep" "Palaver E Dey Come."
Moreso, Fela himself did not have any engaging interaction with the rest of the performers. We would have loved to see his intimacy and complex relationship with his mistresses or "queens." That was missing throughout the entire show. Perhaps surprising, we learned that Fela befriended an American woman Sandra Isidore a member of the Black Panther Party while in the United States-a woman which would later influence his music and political views. We saw Fela mocking Hollywood stereotype of Africa as a jungle.
In the musical piece there was nothing sparkly between the Fela character and Sandra played by Sparlha Swa. Her character was dull and flimsy.
Unlike the first act, the second act of the musical Fela was more engaging. We saw him initially dressed in Nigerian army uniform as a parody of telling his story. I think that was brilliant. Fela tell us about the Orishas and Egungun and how he loves these Yoruba deities. He also tells stories of when he was born. What the herbalist told his mother and so forth. The main tension and conflict of the story though started when we heard the blast at Fela's Kalakuta Republic. The infamous 1977 attack of Fela's house by Nigeria's ruling military junta was so devastating and as audience members we could feel for Fela, his mother, mistresses and band members as we read through the flash screen the atrocities that were committed such as throwing his mother downstairs from upstairs, cutting of Fela's mistress pubic hair and other dastardly acts. The emotional Fela wanted to take his mother's coffin to the government house.
Finally, there were echoes of philosopher Kierkegaard Existentialism in the lifestyle of Fela. He was a unique and isolated individual in an indifferent or hostile universe and he was responsible for some of his own actions. I mean of his death of complications from AIDS in 1997. He was a Spartan warrior. If he were to be a dramatist. He would have wrought his own autobiographical epic drama parallel to Eugene O'Neill "Long Day's Journey into Night."
By and large, the musical Fela was a poignant political commentary about the injustice in a Nigerian society and what it means to be miserable in that society. Fela's shrine was declared by the government to be a danger zone. And Fela asked rhetorically in the play "Has anyone ever been to jail? Even innocent people go to jail myself included." We heard of the enchanting songs of Fela "Yellow Fever" Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" and "Water Get No Enemy." Also we heard of the songs such as "Our Tradition is Corruption" The Lesson Be The Same." And more lampoon songs like "Zombie," "Shuffering and Shmilling," I.T.T. International Thief, Thief" "Coffin for Head of State"
Mr. Bill T Jones and his collaborative team deserve kudos for making this Fela musical a reality. I'm sure there main goal is to transfer or bring this musical to Broadway where it would reach a larger audience after its Off-Broadway run. On paper "Fela! A New Musical" is not the type of conventional musical that does plays well on Broadway. Sadly, Broadway doesn't often favor something outside of the box. It is a risk- averse place and in an era of Disneyfication of Broadway with Hollywood hit movies being turned into all sorts of pandora boxes and puppets like over the top commercialized musicals I don't know whether this Fela musical could fit in. But I would be rooting for it. However, I could imagine it playing very well to full capacity at London's National Theatre 1,160 seats Olivier auditorium and the West End.
I will recommend that people should go and see this musical with all its problematic storyline. It is still worth seeing.
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