Fela! 2009

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) on November 23, 2009. BroadwayWorld and Broadway Beat were on hand and bring you these explosive clips and interviews with the cast and creative!

For the past four years, the Broadway Kids Care (BKC) has provided the children of the Freedom House and Secret Garden with Christmas stockings filled with holiday gifts.

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith present Fela!, the multi-Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about the music and life of the revolutionary musician and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, now playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) through January 2, 2011.

The award-winning Broadway musical Fela!, Harlem's Hue Man Bookstore and the Arts and Entertainment Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) have joined forces to bring a unique promotion to Broadway audiences.

The award-winning Broadway musical Fela!, Harlem's Hue Man Bookstore and the Arts and Entertainment Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) have joined forces to bring a unique promotion to Broadway audiences.

Fela!, recipient of three 2010 Tony® Awards including Best Choreography, will celebrate its One Year Anniversary on Broadway on Tuesday, November 23 @ 7pm at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) where it opened a year ago to rapturous reviews.

According to USA Today, Charles Moore, author of a book about Fela Kuti, has sued the producers of the Broadway musical Fela!. As presented to federal court in Manhattan today, Novemmber 8, Moore claims that producers of the show 'stole his work', and wants performances of the show to stop. Moore, who reportedly declined an offer of $4,000 in 2007 from the show's producers, is seeking at least $5 million.

Fela!, recipient of three 2010 Tony® Awards including Best Choreography, will celebrate its 400th performance on Tuesday, November 8 @ 7pm.

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.

Pop icon Deborah Cox will headline a star-studded cast featuring performances and presentations by Sandra Thurman, former AIDS Czar under President Bill Clinton and current President and CEO of International AIDS Trust, the cast of FELA!, Dancing With The Stars finalist and N'SYNC star Lance Bass, Tony Award winners Alice Ripley, Chuck Cooper, and Melba Moore, and TV stars Graham Phillips (The Good Wife) and Ariana Grande (Nickelodeon's Victorious), for the third annual Broadway in South Africa (BSA) benefit concert. Nearly the entire show will feature world-premiere songs, created for the evening, by such composers as Grammy Award winners Desmond Child and Julie Gold. This year's honoree is producer Michael Butler. He is one of the most successful theatrical producers, lauded for bringing HAIR to Broadway in 1968, and an active proponent of youth creating positive global social change. The concert will take place on Monday, October 4, 2010, at 7:30 pm in the Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom, located at 311 West 34th Street.

On Tuesday, September 28, FELA! received Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) fourth annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. The award, the only industry award of its kind, honors the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical. The award ceremony was held in the Council Room, at Equity's headquarters in the heart of Times Square on Tuesday. BroadwayWorld was on hand and brings you photo coverage below.

FELA! will receive Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) fourth annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. The award, the only industry award of its kind, honors the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical. The award ceremony will be held in the Council Room, at Equity's headquarters in the heart of Times Square on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Pop icon Deborah Cox will headline a star-studded cast featuring performances and presentations by Sandra Thurman, former AIDS Czar under President Bill Clinton and current President and CEO of International AIDS Trust, the cast of FELA!, Dancing With The Stars finalist and N'SYNC star Lance Bass, Tony Award winners Alice Ripley, Chuck Cooper, and Melba Moore, and TV stars Graham Phillips (The Good Wife) and Ariana Grande (Nickelodeon's Victorious), for the third annual Broadway in South Africa (BSA) benefit concert. Nearly the entire show will feature world-premiere songs, created for the evening, by such composers as Grammy Award winners Desmond Child and Julie Gold. This year's honoree is producer Michael Butler. He is one of the most successful theatrical producers, lauded for bringing HAIR to Broadway in 1968, and an active proponent of youth creating positive global social change. The concert will take place on Monday, October 4, 2010, at 7:30 pm in the Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom, located at 311 West 34th Street.

FELA! will receive Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) fourth annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. The award, the only industry award of its kind, honors the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical. The award ceremony will be held in the Council Room, at Equity's headquarters in the heart of Times Square on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Multi-Grammy Award-winner and international recording superstar Patti LaBelle opened in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! last night, September 14. LaBelle will perform in Fela! through its scheduled closing on January 2, 2011.

Multi-Grammy Award-winner and international recording superstar Patti LaBelle opened in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! last night, September 14. LaBelle will perform in Fela! through its scheduled closing on January 2, 2011. BroadwayWorld was on hand for LaBelle's opening night curtain call and after party and brings you photo coverage below!

As BroadwayWorld previously speculated, producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth & Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay will welcome Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle to the cast of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Tuesday, September 14, when she takes over the role of Fela's mother (Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti) through Sunday, January 2, 2011, when the show will play its final scheduled performance. Tony Award-winner Lillias White (who received a 2010 Tony Nomination for her performance in this production) will play her final performance on September 12. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Design. It is currently playing at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) where it opened to rave reviews on November 23.

Audiences will have the opportunity to grab a sneak-peek of the legendary multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle in the Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, both at 8pm.

Audiences will have the opportunity to grab a sneak-peek of the legendary multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle in the Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, both at 8pm.

This week, on August 24, Fox's So You Think You Can Dance featured a special number of FELA!'s 'Zombie,' choreographed by Tony-winner Bill T. Jones. Click below to see the performance!

As BroadwayWorld previously speculated, producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth & Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay will welcome Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle to the cast of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Tuesday, September 14, when she takes over the role of Fela's mother (Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti) through Sunday, January 2, 2011, when the show will play its final scheduled performance. Tony Award-winner Lillias White (who received a 2010 Tony Nomination for her performance in this production) will play her final performance on September 12. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Design. It is currently playing at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) where it opened to rave reviews on November 23.

The best of Broadway is being presented free on six consecutive Thursdays this summer with '106.7 Lite fm Presents Broadway in Bryant Park 2010' - a lunchtime series which began on Thursday, July 8th at 12:30pm on the Bryant Park Stage. Sponsored by Bank of America, and JCPenney 33rd & 6th, and hosted by Lite fm's on-air personalities, the tenth annual presentation of open-air, On- and Off- Broadway lunch hour performances runs through August 12th.