FELA! Fundraiser/Opening Night
March 28, 2012
DuSable Museum of African American History
FELA! Fundraiser/Opening Night
The award-winning Broadway musical FELA! opened Tuesday evening in Chicago to an audience eager for the rhythm and sounds of the famed Nigerian star. If there were any doubts about Afro-Beat music, its origin, or its creator, such doubts were completely eradicated by the time the final drum was struck. For three hours the Oriental Theater became The Shrine, Fela Kuti’s legendary nightclub, full of bright lights, bold colors, and a booming spirit of Diaspora. It was with this same energy that The DuSable Museum celebrated the musical’s opening night with “The First Night Benefit” recognizing black history, black communities, and black power.
FELA! is a musical unlike any other. Blending elements of the communal through audience interaction and with digital narrations, FELA! tells the story of a young musician dedicated to the political renewal of his homeland. Sahr Ngaujah shines in the lead role as Fela, commanding the stage with a grace and style that most surely adorned the Afro-Beat king himself.
And if the powerful acting or singing doesn’t blow you away, it is the electrifying dancing that keeps you on the edge of your seat. We have the great Bill T. Jones to thank for the choreography.
As a cultural institution in the business of sharing and reclaiming narratives through artistic production, the museum’s opening night benefit was a perfect example of the type of programming that must continue to occur in Chicago in order to support those histories which have long been ignored by mainstream art outlets. Indeed, the folks who gathered at Petterino’s for the benefit post show party could not stop buzzing with excitement.
There is no doubt that Fela’s music changed the world. His stylistic innovation brought together the best of multiple musical genres producing a body of work that remains in a league of its own. Yet, his message of activism is as equally profound. Fela Kuti reminded the world that music exists as a tool for entertainment and resistance. That is the legacy that the DuSable Museum celebrated Tuesday evening and that is the legacy in which we will remain firmly rooted.
FELA! runs at the Oriental Theater in Chicago until April 15th. Be sure to grab tickets.
For more information about the DuSable Museum of African American History, visit: www.dusablemuseum.org