BY Brandon Voss
December 16 2009 10:10 AM ET

Thanks in part to producers Jay-Z and Will Smith, Fela! the new Broadway musical celebrating the life of Nigerian revolutionary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has transformed the Eugene O’Neill Theatre into the Shrine, Fela’s infamous Lagos nightclub. There’s a scary, somber edge to the political strife, but Fela! is mostly a colorful rump-shaking tribute to the Afrobeat legend with audience interaction. (Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon gleefully replicated clock-inspired hip thrusts the night I attended.) The bad news: A little Fela goes a long way, so two hours and 40 minutes is a schlep. The drums had nearly lulled me to sleep by the time Fela went to the ultraviolet-lit “other side” to visit his murdered mom, played by the luminous Lillias White — who was Jennifer Holliday’s understudy in Dreamgirls and played Effie in the 1987 revival.
-
New Antigay Children's Book Teaches Kids to Hate LGBT Families
-
Boy Scouts Vote to End Discrimination Against Gay Youth
-
WATCH: What Happens When a Gay Boy Scout Comes Out to His Camp Leader
-
Transgender High School Senior Skips Graduation Over School's Transphobic Policy
-
Nevada Takes Another Step Toward Marriage Equality
-
PHOTOS: Real Weddings, Real People
Sign Up For Email Updates
- Books New Antigay Children's Book Teaches Kids to Hate LGBT Families 8:17 PM
- Commentary Op-ed: Boy Scouts Must Complete the Inclusion Process 7:32 PM
- Sports Gay Athletes Hop Aboard the Condom Mobile 7:15 PM
- Crime Questions Over Police Response to Murder of N.Y. Gay Man Still Unanswered 7:02 PM
- Marriage Equality Nevada Takes Another Step Toward Marriage Equality 6:41 PM
- Youth Boy Scouts Vote to End Discrimination Against Gay Youth 6:22 PM
- Theater WATCH: How Billy Porter Becomes Kinky Boots Drag Diva 6:15 PM









