Sahr Ngaujah, the lead actor in FELA! the prestigious Broadway show is in Nigeria, but that is not the news, the news is that the Tony award winning actor is eager to mount the stage and show Nigerians, Fela fans and non- fan alike the stuff he is made of and stuff that gave him the Tony awards ahead of others.SPEAKING on the show, Sahr Ngaujah said, when we performed FELA! at Londons Royal National Theater, it was fun and the turnout was great but the high expectations of Nigerians for the show is bigger than I have seen anywhere. All the way from the airport to the hotel, the buzz all around Lagos about FELA! gets me so excited that I cannot wait to get on stage. I cant wait to visit African Shrine. Cant wait to mount the stage and portray the personality of the man who was voice to the voiceless and help to the helpless. I am here with about 80 other cast and crew members, the stage is set, the game is about to begin.As prelude to the show, a press conference with the cast and crew of FELA! as well as the Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka was held last Thursday at the Eko Hotel and climaxed with a concert version of the show, performed by the original cast of FELA! at the African Shrine. The show was to pay homage to the subject of this award-winning musical, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and to his family at Felas spiritual home, the New Africa Shrine.On April 17, a strictly by invitation welcome reception will be held for cast and crew of FELA! at Eko Hotel. To the delight of many, the public will be treated to an Afro Beat Concert at a yet to be disclosed venue on April 18. Beeta Oragnisation (cinema-advocacy organization) in collaboration with the Broadway will on April 19 be holding breakfast session with talk based on propagating the cinema culture in Nigeria. Notable theatre practitioners and academics like Professor Ahmed Yerima, Professor Duro Oni and the President of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) Greg Odutayo have also been invited. Bikiya Graham Douglas, arrowhead of Beeta Organizations also confirmed that some of Nigerias top rated choreographers like Arnold Udoka of the National Troupe have been invited to the interactive session aimed at exchanging ideas with the cast and crew of the show.But the show proper will start from April 21 with a red carpet event at the prestigious Eko Hotel and will run till April 25. Attracting 2500 guests per show, FELA! will in all be showing 8 times with 2 shows on Easter Sunday and on Easter Monday.FELA! described by the Times Out New York as more than a musical and an ecstatic phenomenon after production abroad was nominated for three Olivier Awards, London theatres highest honor, including Best Musical, Best Actor (Sahr Ngaujah) and Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones). In addition to the online sales, big brands like chicken Republic, Roberts Café, E-centre Yaba, Shoprite Surulere and Eko Hotels have all come on board to ease the long queue for ticket purchase as tickets can now be bought in all of these centers.FELA!, an original Broadway musical produced by Shawn JayZ Carter and Will Smith and directed by Bill T. Jones tells the true story of the legendary Nigerian musician whose soulful Afrobeat rhythms and cutting lyrics ignited the spirit of empowerment and cultural awareness in a generation. Observers consider the show FELA! As one show that will take Lagos by a storm
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