Rialto Chatter: FELA! Cancelled This Evening Due to Multiple Injuries

BroadwayWorld.com has received a slew of emails tonight from theatergoers noting that tonight's scheduled 7pm performance of FELA! was cancelled due to multiple injuries. Audience members tell BroadwayWorld.com that they arrived at the theatre to be told that the show would begin late because they were doing onstage rehearsals of understudies to see if the show could go on, which ultimately it did not as the show was officially cancelled at 7:15, fifteen minutes after its scheduled start time. 

There's no word at this time on which performers from the dance-heavy show are injured. More information to come as it's available. 

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) November 23, 2009.

This new musical 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 will play the title character on alternate performances, while the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of AaRon Johnson, will again perform Kuti's rousing music live onstage.

Winner of this year's Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, Fela! was conceived by Bill T. Jones, Jim Lewis and Stephen Hendel. Fela! had its world premiere at Off-Broadway's 37 Arts in September 2008, where it enjoyed a sold-out limited run. Tickets for Fela! on Broadway are available through www.Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

In this revolutionary new musical, directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Bill T. Jones with a book by Jim Lewis, audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), Fela! exploresKuti's controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician. Featuring many of Fela Kuti's most captivating songs and Bill T. Jones's imaginative staging, Fela! is a provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theater.