When Fela! garnered 11 Tony Award nominations on May 4, it came as a surprise to absolutely no one fortunate enough to see the musical on Broadway. Whether you’re a diehard fan of Nigerian music legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti or a newbie who wouldn’t know Afrobeat (the distinctive genre he created) from Adam, the production, inspired by Kuti’s life, is so vibrantly potent, it’s virtually impossible not to fall under its spell.
The experience is immersive from the moment you walk in. The infectious rhythms beckon even as your ticket is being taken. The musicians — the Afrobeat acolytes of NYC band Antibalas, who remain onstage for the show’s duration — build an insistent groove combining elements of funk, jazz, African pop and Afro-Cuban percussion. The Eugene O’Neill Theatre is lavishly decorated from top to bottom to look like the Shrine, the nightclub in Lagos, Nigeria, where Kuti held court for much of the 1970s. Its walls are lined with masks, graffiti, iconographic portraits of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, and a massive painting of his beloved mother Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti, a feminist activist in Nigeria’s anti-colonial movement.
We’re here to witness Fela’s final performance at the Shrine in the summer of 1978, six months after his mother’s tragic death at the hands of a government angered by Kuti’s outspoken rebellion. As the instrumental strains of Kuti’s classic “Gentleman” give way to the rousing opening number “Everything Scatter,” with legions of colorfully costumed singers dancing their way down the aisles, it immediately becomes clear that this no ordinary concert (or Broadway show, for that matter).
Kuti has a lot on his mind, seamlessly weaving his life story and impassioned rants against the oppressive policies of Nigeria’s military dictatorship amongst some of the funkiest songs James Brown never wrote. But the show wisely avoids becoming too bogged down in politics, instead, allowing Fela (played by Kevin Mambo and former Atlanta resident Sahr Ngaujah, who earned a Tony nod for his dazzling performance) to enrapture the audience with his charismatic charm, humor and raw animal magnetism.
Every element of the production is on point, from the book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones (who also directed and choreographed) and Marina Draghici’s scenic and costume design to Lillias White’s Tony-nominated turn as Funmilayo and the band’s sizzling rendition of songs such as “Shakara” and “Zombie.”
You may actually forget you’re at a Broadway show rather than a concert, as Fela leads you in call-and-response vocals, teaches you how to swivel your hips like his gyrating dancers and humorously chides latecomers. And unlike the norm, the dynamic energy of the show actually gains momentum in the second half, leading to an emotional crescendo with the blunt force of a sucker punch to the kidneys.
Publicists hinted that the production’s eventual tour will begin in Atlanta (which is also the former home of actress Saycon Sengbloh, who plays central love interest Sandra), but Fela! is one show you won’t want to miss on Broadway. See it now, before it wins a ton of Tonys and starts selling out months in advance.
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Bret Love has been covering Atlanta’s arts and entertainment scene since 1993 for a variety of local, national and international publications. He also performs regularly with Jackpie Improv at Relapse Theatre in Midtown.
