Note to producers worried about the tough economics of Broadway: If you can’t get a big-name movie star to anchor your show, consider enlisting a groundbreaking choreographer to liven things up.

Featuring a book by Jones and Jim Lewis and the pulsating rhythms and radical lyrics of Fela’s music, the show, which had its world premiere off-Broadway last year, teaches the American musical new moves. And I’m not just referring to what happens onstage. Like the current Broadway revival of “Hair,” directed by Diane Paulus and choreographed by the cutting-edge Karole Armitage, “Fela!” doesn’t permit theatergoers to sit by passively.

Fela 2 A rousing, always in motion Sahr Ngaujah, who alternates in the title role with Kevin Mambo, enjoins the audience to sing and shake their derrieres along with him. A skimpily clad ensemble streams up and down the aisle to bring the musical’s energy directly to us. Differences in age and size are no obstacles as spectators learn to get down West African style: For 2 1/2 bouncy hours, self-consciousness is magically held in abeyance.

This dissident journey isn’t related with anything resembling documentary thoroughness (Fela’s run-ins with the authorities are fuzzily presented and there’s oddly no mention of his death from AIDS-related causes). But the spirit of his fight for justice is made universally resonant, and the fusion of his sound is rapturously celebrated with a pinwheel parade of pelvises.

by Charles McNulty

Credit: Monique Carboni (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Note to producers worried about the tough economics of Broadway: If you can’t get a big-name movie star to anchor your show, consider enlisting a groundbreaking choreographer to liven things up.

Featuring a book by Jones and Jim Lewis and the pulsating rhythms and radical lyrics of Fela’s music, the show, which had its world premiere [...]

TREY ANTHONY of ‘DA KINK IN MY HAIR PRESENTS:

SECRETS OF A BLACK BOY

A PLAY BY DARREN ANTHONY

Secrets of a Black Boy is the no holds barred, tell it like it is, male response to the smash-hit ‘Da Kink In My Hair that gives a thought-provoking look into the emotional lives of black men. With a soundscape of music meets theatre, this hot new production is a concert, a party and a play all in one.

This brutally honest new piece gives voice to five black men from Toronto whose in-your-face stories are set against the backdrop of the displacement of families in Regent Park. Secrets of a Black Boy promises to provide poignant insights into black, male culture and no subject is taboo from interracial dating, commitment phobia, gun violence, sexuality and abuse. Every stereotype black men face will be critically examined and explored, subsequently, giving audiences a fresh, new and authentic experience! You’ll never look at a black man the same again!

Tickets from $20
Tickets can be purchased by calling 416-778-8163 or online at www.themusichall.ca

To learn more about it, please go to SecretsofaBlackBoy.com

TREY ANTHONY of ‘DA KINK IN MY HAIR PRESENTS:
SECRETS OF A BLACK BOY
A PLAY BY DARREN ANTHONY
Secrets of a Black Boy is the no holds barred, tell it like it is, male response to the smash-hit ‘Da Kink In My Hair that gives a thought-provoking look into the emotional lives of black men. With a [...]