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During a performance of Fela! in Los Angeles, a 75-year-old woman got so caught up in the show that she jumped onstage and danced with the ensemble. She later sent an e-mail to the cast that was forwarded to producer Stephen Hendel. It read, in part: "I am the elderly lady with her white cane who literally threw caution to the wind when I felt compelled to join you onstage in that ocean of love that you created. Thank you my brothers and sisters for allowing me to be in that sacred space with you, if only for that moment. I have been in stage four of breast cancer and I felt so revitalized and healed by what you gave. I'm sure my life has been prolonged."
That a musical based on the extraordinary life and work of Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1938-1997) inspires such passion and ecstasy comes as no surprise to Hendel, whose life was transformed when he heard Kuti's Afrobeat music for the first time in 2000. "I was overwhelmed," he says. "I read the liner notes that explained the songs and gave a description of who Kuti was, and I was very moved. I listened to more music and read a few books, and kept thinking about creating a theatre piece about him."
Hendel calls Fela! "the great achievement of my life," but there have been lows amidst the highs. The Broadway run ended after a disappointing 463 performances, but the show has continued to have a life. The production went to Nigeria — "magical," says Hendel — and London. There's now a national tour, currently in Chicago and headed for Baltimore, Boston, St. Paul and Houston. But there's also been resistance from presenters around the country who believe their audiences will not come.
"This is a universal story of being committed, of using God-given talent to stand up and fight for freedom and dignity," says Hendel. "And yet when you have an all-black cast, people say, 'This is a black show.' It's not a black show. It's a human show based on a historical figure who happened to be Nigerian. The reality is that if you open your mind and heart to it, and you're not a racist, we have a show that will be transformative."
Read about the Broadway life of Fela! in the Playbill Vault.
Visit the official website of the tour at felaonbroadway.com.