Long, Long, Long, Long Time Ago

Fela Kuti “I.T.T. (Part 2)”

There are a lot of ways that a Broadway production based upon the life and music of Fela Kuti could go wrong or just be sort of unbearably hokey, but Fela! by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones is an excellent, engaging show that brings Afrobeat into an unlikely context without diluting the music or condescending to either the source material or the theater audience. The production is built around the conceit that you are at Fela’s personal club The Shrine in Lagos, and he is hosting his show and explaining the circumstances of his life via monologue and his music. The narrative is fairly didactic in the first act, including an entertaining explanation of Afrobeat involving demonstrations of the various musical influences on the distinct sound, and more abstracted in the second, which climaxes with a spectacular, impressionistic dance-centric set piece. The story can get a bit wobbly at some points, but the narrative thread is secondary to the brilliance of the music, which is performed by Antibalas, and Jones’ choreography, which is so amazing as to seem unreal.

Given that he is the center of every scene, Fela is an extraordinarily demanding role, and as such there are two actors in the role, switching off shows through the week. I was lucky enough to see a performance featuring Sahr Ngaujah, the primary Fela. Ngaujah is a truly astonishing actor, and he inhabits the role of the charismatic firebrand with freakish grace as he speaks, sings, dances, and plays his saxophone. It’s very hard to imagine the show even existing without him — the skill set is so specific, the performance is so demanding. He’s built like a superhero and has a level of talent that forces you to wonder how a person such as himself can even exist. I trust that Kevin Mambo, the secondary Fela, is very good in the part as well, but it’s hard to imagine that there are many other men who could handle this, much less surpass Ngaujah.

Aside from some narrative issues, the show is not without flaw. The role of Sandra, the American woman who brings Fela to radical politics, is somewhat miscast. Saycon Sengbloh is a fine actress and singer, but her mannered approach to the part does not convey enough passion or excitement to properly sell this pivotal moment in the story, which happens to include what I must assume is the world’s first dance tribute to reading.

Fela! is obviously not the most pure expression of Afrobeat music you are going to find, and its depiction of Kuti borders on hagiography, but it is remarkable in the way it brings the music and aesthetic to theater without diluting the essence of the material. Fela’s songs are abridged and contextualized to fit the narrative, but it’s neither a standard jukebox musical or a bad cover version. It’s perhaps best to think of this work as a world class Afrobeat revue, complete with a light history lesson for those new to the sound that does not insult the intelligence of those who are already familiar with Fela’s life and music.

Buy Fela’s music from Amazon. Buy tickets to see Fela! on Broadway.