Fela!

Last night Michael took em to see Fela! at the Eugene O'Neill Theater on Broadway. What is this ryan charisma? First off, Fela is the name of a person, Fela Kuti of Nigeria. The whole theater was turned into the social club that Fela performed in back in Lagos. The set was very impressive. The sets moved and the stage rearranged for all the scenes. The dancing was top notch. But best/most of all was the music. While admittedly not my style of music, I had to acknowledge how talented this band was. No really, they were phenomenal. Fela's music was a fusion of jazz & his own homeland music. Afrobeat, and it was good.

This show is a full scale musical. Costumes, lights, sets, costumes, choreography and book. But in the end, it's not my cup of tea. I found the story the most fascinating. The injustices and corruption that the Nigerian government was responsible for was horrible. And Fela's music was calling out the government, which made him an enemy of it. Great story.

Should you see it? Only if you're one of those people, like myself, who sees so much theater that these odd shows are a nice break from Wicked & Phantom of the Opera. It's not shiny happy, It's not. It real, solid footing, story telling with factual music. Buy the CD.