FOR A REALLY electric, foot-stomping night out at the theatre, you simply cannot do better than FELA!, the Tony Award-winning musical now playing a return engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown LA.
The show documents the life of Fela Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and pioneer of the Afrobeat sound whose influence during the 1970s and 1980s in his native Lagos far exceeded mere music. Kuti was also a groundbreaking political thinker, human rights activist and something of a mystic sex symbol to his fellow Nigerians. He was also a constant thorn in the side of the repressive military government of the time, who frequently surrounded his compound to dish out intimidation – and not infrequently – beatings of Fela and his fans.
The show follows Fela from his early days as a student in London to his brief sojourn in the United States, where he underwent a political awakening after being exposed to the Black Panther Movement. But most of the show centers on his residence at the Shrine, a legendary Lagos nightclub, where he performed, held forth, and even launched his own political party in 1979.
The show, benefits from an electric performance from Adesola Osakalumi as Fela, ably abetted by Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child fame) as Fela’s number one wife, Sandra Isadore. Music is by Fela Kuti. Book by Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones. The show runs at the Ahmanson only until May 5th. Highly recommended.
Tickets are priced from $20 to $85. For details visit: www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.
