Fela!
Now onstage at the AhmansonTheatre at the Music Center, the musical Fela! accomplishes something that many a road show cannot: fill the space with energy and excitement. The cavernous theatre is designed for just this sort of presentation…. Throughout the long night (nearly three hours), the rafter ring with the inventive Afrobeat of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (played by Sahr Ngaujah on opening night).
The man himself looms larger than life in this performance, loosely based on his own life. While he was in England at school in the late 50s, his parents were securing the country’s independence, with his mother, Funmilayo (Melanie Marshall), displaying mythical stature as the mother of the new state.
Following his musical instincts, Fela incorporated influences from around the world into more traditional African sounds from Nigeria and Ghana. His radicalization by Sandra (Paulette Ivory), a member of the Black Panthers, and late 70s discovery of the tribal Yoruban religion, coincided with his mother’s death. The mix of politics and post-colonial yearning for his roots led to the creation of Afrobeat, and Fela’s near-mythic status as symbol of rebellion against the colonially installed state.
Indeed, the music brings us back into the chaotic and dangerous early days of Fela’s Shrine Night club and keeps us there. In the hands of the celebrated choreographer, Bill T. Jones (with Jim Lewis & Stephen Hendel), Fela’s life is the hanger for high energy, pounding music and mesmerizing dance. The incidents of an excess of wine, women (8 wives? Really?) and song unfold against Marina Draghici’s versatile setting and told with fluidity via terrific visuals (designed by Peter Nigrini) that extend far into the audience. The grinding sounds of Fela’s original music come to life in Aaron Johnson’s tremendous band, featuring additional music from both Johnson and Jordan McLean.
Despite its authenticity, however, at times the evocation of Nigeria’s African past evident in Yoruban ritual combine with Bill T. Jones’ choreography and Draghici’s costumes in ways that come uncomfortably close to caricature. After nearly three hours, our view of the hero known at his death in 1997 as “High Priest,” is every bit as complicated as before.
Fela! performs at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90012, through January 22, 2012, with performances Tuesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. There are added performances on January 5th and 19th at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices: $20.00 – $120.00 available through the Center Theatre Group Audience Services, (213) 972-4400, or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.