Entertainment

Fela! comes home to Nigeria

LAGOS — The award-winning Broadway musical "Fela!" celebrating the life of late Nigerian afrobeat legend Fela Kuti will be staged in his home country in April, organisers said on Monday.

The performances are set to take place at an upscale hotel in Lagos, but organisers say they want to hold one show at his family's iconic New Afrika Shrine club, modeled after Kuti's now defunct Shrine.

It will be performed by the original Broadway cast, including Sahr Ngaujah, the actor of Sierra Leone descent who has been lauded for his portrayal of the musician and activist considered a hero in Nigeria -- and especially in Lagos.

"We are going to have a miniature show at the Shrine," said Bobby Taylor, spokeswoman for the production, which has also been taken to London?s Royal National Theater.

While some may balk at the decision to stage the life of one of Nigeria's most revered government critics and anti-authority figures at a luxury hotel, organisers say stage lighting and logistical demands made holding more shows at his family's club difficult.

The play will run from April 20-25, but Kuti's daughter told AFP that the Shrine performance is being planned for April 14.

"The first show will be at the Shrine," Yeni Kuti said.

Organisers said in a statement that "the aim of Fela! in Lagos is to unite and connect Africans in spirit and unity, to serve as a catalyst for cultural revival in Nigeria, and to celebrate Fela Kuti, for the contribution he has made to Nigeria and the world."

Kuti was famous as much for his harsh anti-government criticism, including songs such as "Coffin For Head of State" and "International Thief Thief," as his lifestyle.

His love of marijuana was well-known and he was married to 27 women at the same time. He even formed a commune, the Kalakuta Republic, that he declared independent from Nigeria.

Kuti died of an HIV-related illness in 1997.

Source: AFP

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