The curtain was drawn on Fela!, the widely acclaimed Broadway musical inspired by the life, music and activism of Afrobeat maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Last night’s finale played to a packed house of ecstatic spectators.
The curtain was drawn on Fela!, the widely acclaimed Broadway musical inspired by the life, music and activism of Afrobeat maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Last night’s finale played to a packed house of ecstatic spectators.
It was a rousing, throbbing and highly emotional end to the run of one of the most gripping musicals ever produced on Broadway. Among those who saw the closing show was Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, who is also a cousin of Fela Kuti. Mr. Soyinka attended the event with numerous members of his family. Also in attendance was acclaimed producer and filmmaker Spike Lee.
Professor Wole Soyinka, Folake Soyinka and famous American opera singer, Jesseye Norman, inside the Eugene 'O' Neil Theater
The high-energy show did not disappoint last night as Kevin Mambo, a Zimbabwean actor, played the lead role as "Fela."
Mr. Mambo turned on a mesmerizing performance for the audience with his quick, witty and sometimes bracing performance, even though it was clear that perhaps a bruising rehearsal had broken his voice. He not only held the crowd spellbound, he broke down and wept profusely towards the end of the show.
Top American singer and actress Patricia Louise Holte, popularly known as Patti Labelle, had a commanding presence as she movingly played Funmilayo, Fela’s mother.
The audience was very much a part of the closing show. They were invited to a dance routine that involved vigorous butt shaking to a "number’s" dance as Mr. Mambo called out the numbers.
All former cast members of the show appeared on stage to exhibit their dazzling dance routine. As the show neared an emotional crescendo, Bill T. Jones, one of the musical’s producers and a Tony award-winning creator-director-choreographer, hopped on stage to dance with the cast to the uproarious admiration of fans. Sahr Ngaujah, the Sierra Leone-born actor who was the main player of Fela, also hopped on stage.
After the show, the cast, production crew, producers and journalists retired to Sarafina, an adjoining bar, for a reception and party. Mr. Soyinka, accompanied by his wife, two daughters and some grand children, as well as Spike Lee and his daughter stayed through the reception that capped the memorable end of the musical. “This was a grand finale,” Soyinka gushed.
Mr. Steve Hendel, the musical’s main producer, told SaharaReporters that the finale was just the end of one of phase of the groundbreaking show on Broadway. He promised that the show would touch down in Nigeria soon.
The London production of Fela at the National Theater will be filmed on January 13 and broadcast to 370 movie theaters in 20 countries. The producers plan that each theater could have four screenings of the filmed version. The producers plan to sell tickets for $22 each, offering audiences in the United States and all over the world a chance to see an enthralling film version of Fela! for a reasonable price at their local cinema.
One production staff told Saharareporters that information about specific theaters and times for the filmed version can be found on a website ntlive.com.
According to Mr. Hendel, this next stage is the "democratization" of theatre shows on Fela. It would be the first time in the history of Broadway that a live show is made available in cinemas and movie theaters.
Prof. Wole Soyinka, to his left, wife( Folake), daughters-Moremi (in white) & Peyi and grandkids last night at Fela's grand finale