Kevin Mambo News

The Village Voice announced today that the hit Broadway musical FELA! will perform at the 55th Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards on Monday, May 17, 2010, at Webster Hall. FELA!-which is produced by Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, among others-is a musical based on the life and music of the iconic African composer and performer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Knitting Factory Records is excited to announce the June 8th release of Fela! - Original Broadway Cast Recording. The record documents the magic of the hit Broadway musical that Ben Brantley of the New York Times called 'hot (and seriously cool).'

Fela!, the critically acclaimed new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Bill T. Jones (Spring Awakening), with a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo play the title character at alternate performances, while the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, perform Kuti's rousing music live onstage.

Jay-Z, rapper and producer of the Broadway musical FELA! will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live's May 8th episode, according to reports.

The National Theatre will be bringing Broadway's Fela! to London's Olivier Theatre for a November 6 premiere. The show will be joined by Michael Grandage's Danton's Death and new plays by Moira Buffini and Mike Bartlett. Also announced by the National, Desmond Barrit and Malcom Sinclair will be joining the cast of The Habit of the Art beginning July 14.

Tom Viertel, Chairman of the Board of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, has announced that Stephen Sondheim will present Harold Prince with the organization's Monte Cristo Award at a gala benefit on Monday, April 5, 2010 at Bridgewaters. The Award, given annually in recognition of a distinguished career exemplifying Eugene O'Neill's pioneering spirit and standard of excellence, has previously been presented to Kevin Spacey, Neil Simon, Jason Robards, Jr., Edward Albee, August Wilson, Zoe Caldwell, Brian Dennehy, Karl Malden, Arthur and Barbara Gelb, and Wendy Wasserstein.

It was announced today that in November 2010, The National Theatre, one of the world's most prestigious venues, will produce FELA!, this season's most heralded new musical on Broadway. Performances at The National's Olivier Theatre are slated to begin Saturday, November 6, with an official Opening Night set for Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

The acclaimed Broadway sensation Fela! will play London's National Theatre in November, reports Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail. Star of the New York production Sahr Ngaujah will portray Fela on the National's Olivier Stage. His fellow New York alternate, Kevin Mambo, will also join the cast for the London premiere. Dates for the production have not been set at this time, though it is expected the show will play from November 16 through January 2011.

Fela! the new Broadway musical, will record its cast album today, March 8. The recording will be made at Clinton Recording studies. The cast album is set to be released on June 8.

Broadway dominated The View yesterday, March 3. Following an interview with The Miracle Worker's Abigail Breslin, the Fela! cast took the stage to perform 'Zombie' for viewers. Valerie Bertinelli filled in for Whoopi Goldberg, alongside View regulars Barbra Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Sheperd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Audience members were sent home from the taping with a pair of tickets to see the Fela!. The View airs weekdays at 11:00am EST on ABC.

Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org), an 'artists' peace corps' that mobilizes world-class artists in volunteer service programs that benefit schools, hospitals and communities, has collaborated with The Metropolitan Museum of Art to create Bringing It To YOU - a multidisciplinary arts day of gallery tours and featured performances for New York City school children. The event, presented by Sing for Hope, took place at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on March 4, 2010 with the performance beginning at 2:30pm at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture the event.

St. Ann's Warehouse has announced the attendees for its upcoming Gala to celebrate its 30 year anniversary. The event will include FELA! star Sahr Ngaujah, who plays the title role in the hit Broadway musical, alongside the FELA! band.

Fela!, the critically acclaimed new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will celebrate its 100th performance on Friday, February 19 @ 8pm.

More than 250 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center alumni gathered at The Players Club in New York City on Monday evening, February 1 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the O'Neill's National Theater Institute. Joining the party were alumni from NTI and its Moscow Art Theater Semester and Theatermakers programs, as well as alumni from the O'Neill's renowned summer Conferences: National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference and National Critics Institute.

As a nod to Black History Month, during the course of the week NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams pays tribute to a series of history makers, including FELA!'s Bill T. Jones. In the video piece below, Anne Curry profiles Jones and speaks to the Tony Award-winning director and choreographer him about his career, achievements and the tremendous success of FELA!

An African dance specialist, Jeffrey gave up a Hollywood choreography career to join the Nigeria-set musical.

See what it's like to dance in the shoes of one of Fela!'s 'swing' performers in this video diary.

FELA!, currently playing at the Eugene O'Neill on Broadway starring Lillias White and Sahr Ngaujah, dedicated the January 25th performance last night to The Actors Fund, granting proceeds to the fund in support of their programs and services.

FELA!, currently playing at the Eugene O'Neill on Broadway starring Lillias White and Sahr Ngaujah, will dedicate the January 25th performance to The Actors Fund, granting proceeds to the fund in support of their programs and services. The curtain rises on Monday the 25th at 8:00pm. For information on The Actor's fund, visit www.actorsfund.org.

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will open on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) tonight. Performances began on Monday, October 19