BWW Reviews: FELA! Will Occupy Your Heart - Playing now thru Dec. 11th at SF's Curran Theatre

The posters, headlines and lyrics that provide the throbbing and rhythmic motif of Fela! could be taken from the pages of any newspaper today and certainly from the Occupy movement websites from across the world. Majority live in poverty... Our problems are many...Development must be people oriented...Wake up, it's my country now...We are all standing now! Sound familiar?

In the 70's, Nigeria rose up and struck a new chord for justice with Afrobeat founder and political activist, Fela, as their controversial leader. The show, which opened last night at San Francisco's Curran Theatre, sways, plays and sings the political heart song of Nigeria through the life story of this musician turned activist, Fela Kuti. In its west coast premiere, the Tony-winning Broadway sensation packed a powerful opening night musical and political punch that was dynamic and experientially transformative. Everybody, please say "yeah yeah!"

Conceived by master choreographer and director Bill T. Jones, with Jim Lewis and Stephen Hendel, Fela! hit Broadway in 2009 and garnered 11 Tony nominations and three wins (Choreography, Costume and Sound Design) for the dynamic show. The book dances daringly between bio info and stimulating, rhythmic experience, creating a concert-like atmosphere while maintaining a profound theatrical energy that is explosive and moving...and relevant right now.

Tony nominee Sahr Ngaujah grabbed the attention of his San Francisco audience from the moment he took the stage and never let go. His dynamic presence propelled the pulsating choreography and revolutionary lyrics of Fela but he perhaps shined brightest when he simply talking to the audience, moving from the funny to the sobering very quickly.

Speaking in pidgin English he thanked the audience for coming to their final performance at the Shrine, which was part of his Lagos compound from which he fomented a revolution.

"I'm glad so many of you could make it out tonight, considering this area is so dangerous," he says. And then, his voice rich with sarcasm, he continues. "The military government was kind enough to send troops to watch over us and monitor our whereabouts." In the next beat he cuts to the chase. "Too much Nigeria can give you broKen Head, burned house, dead students."

Fela Kuti did not start out as a political revolutionary, although his mother Funmilayo, (the amazingly talented Melanie Marshall) did. It would take a trip to the United States and the political leanings of a woman named Sandra (wonderfully played by Paulette Ivory) to awaken him and pivot his music straight into the heart of political activism back home in Nigeria.

Marshall is transcendent as the reincarnation of Funmilayo, who was thrown to her death out of a second story window in one of the final police actions at Lagos. Her vocal range is tremendous and she uses it to great effect to challenge, cajole and heal her son as he continues on in his quest for social justice. She knows he's no saint, but then, who is?

The ensemble cast never stops moving and gyrating to the compulsive beats of the drum, which Fela calls the "pulse of the world, the impulse of life." Unaccountably, even in the upbeat numbers, the spark of hope and happiness that accompanies the promise of change in a new movement, was not reflected in the ensemble's facial expressions. They remained neutral throughout, perhaps anticipating the eventual beatings and suffering that revolutions always bring.

Scenic designer Marina Draghici gives us a rich canvass of color, tribal masks and political posters and images along with a catwalk above which projections appear throughout the show. Robert Wierzel's lighting saturates the stage with yellows and teAl Greens punctuating the action with blasts of white light out into the audience as if to say that we are part of the action on stage. And indeed, the audience is brought to their feet for a chance to learn some dance moves to Fela's Afrobeat music in true concert fashion. Fela tells us to "leave your shy outside," and so we do.

The book also does the same, never shying away from the controversy surrounding Fela (he had multiple wives and was fond of smoking pot) except when it comes to his death from AIDS. That is never mentioned. But in a moving and terrifying witness to the brutal military raid on Fela's compound in 1978, Peter Nigrini's projection design shows images of the raid as, one by one, cast members are spotlighted, with their testimony of rape and violence projected behind them. Audience members were visibly moved.

In the end Fela remained undaunted, remaining faithful to the cause until his death. One million people attended his funeral. Ultimately, Fela! is a story of courage and creative defiance that speaks truth through the powerful voice and vision of one man's music and lyrics. In the face of crime, corruption and injustice Fela's message is just as potent today as it was in 1970's Nigeria. And now audiences across the country will have the opportunity to be part of the experience of Fela! Go see it. It will occupy your heart.

Fela! Musical
Book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
Music and Lyrics by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Directed by Bill T. Jones
Nov. 15 - Dec 11, 2011
Curran Theatre
Running time:
2 hours and 35 minutes
Photo courtesy of: Monique Carboni

 

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