Award-winning musical ‘Fela!’ coming to Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Producers say the show -- starring its original Broadway cast, including actor Sahr Ngaujah portraying Anikulapo-Kuti -- will be performed from April 20 to April 25 in Lagos...

TheGrio Staff

Feb 28, 2011

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The award-winning musical “Fela!,” a homage to Afrobeat musician and firebrand political force Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is to be performed in Nigeria for the first time.

Producers say the show — starring its original Broadway cast, including actor Sahr Ngaujah portraying Anikulapo-Kuti — will be performed from April 20 to April 25 in Lagos. They say Lagos state government will provide support for the performances.

Stephen Hendel, a producer of the show, told The Associated Press on Monday that he hoped the show would honor the memory of the pioneering musician.

Fela’s music challenged the military dictators who ruled oil-rich Nigeria. He died in 1997 of complications brought on by AIDS.