Jim Lewis News

The National Theatre will be bringing Broadway's Fela! to London's Olivier Theatre for a November 6 premiere. The show will be joined by Michael Grandage's Danton's Death and new plays by Moira Buffini and Mike Bartlett. Also announced by the National, Desmond Barrit and Malcom Sinclair will be joining the cast of The Habit of the Art beginning July 14.

It was announced today that in November 2010, The National Theatre, one of the world's most prestigious venues, will produce FELA!, this season's most heralded new musical on Broadway. Performances at The National's Olivier Theatre are slated to begin Saturday, November 6, with an official Opening Night set for Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

The acclaimed Broadway sensation Fela! will play London's National Theatre in November, reports Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail. Star of the New York production Sahr Ngaujah will portray Fela on the National's Olivier Stage. His fellow New York alternate, Kevin Mambo, will also join the cast for the London premiere. Dates for the production have not been set at this time, though it is expected the show will play from November 16 through January 2011.

Fela! the new Broadway musical, will record its cast album today, March 8. The recording will be made at Clinton Recording studies. The cast album is set to be released on June 8.

Broadway dominated The View yesterday, March 3. Following an interview with The Miracle Worker's Abigail Breslin, the Fela! cast took the stage to perform 'Zombie' for viewers. Valerie Bertinelli filled in for Whoopi Goldberg, alongside View regulars Barbra Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Sheperd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Audience members were sent home from the taping with a pair of tickets to see the Fela!. The View airs weekdays at 11:00am EST on ABC.

St. Ann's Warehouse has announced the attendees for its upcoming Gala to celebrate its 30 year anniversary. The event will include FELA! star Sahr Ngaujah, who plays the title role in the hit Broadway musical, alongside the FELA! band.

Fela!, the critically acclaimed new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will celebrate its 100th performance on Friday, February 19 @ 8pm.

As a nod to Black History Month, during the course of the week NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams pays tribute to a series of history makers, including FELA!'s Bill T. Jones. In the video piece below, Anne Curry profiles Jones and speaks to the Tony Award-winning director and choreographer him about his career, achievements and the tremendous success of FELA!

See what it's like to dance in the shoes of one of Fela!'s 'swing' performers in this video diary.

FELA!, currently playing at the Eugene O'Neill on Broadway starring Lillias White and Sahr Ngaujah, dedicated the January 25th performance last night to The Actors Fund, granting proceeds to the fund in support of their programs and services.

FELA!, currently playing at the Eugene O'Neill on Broadway starring Lillias White and Sahr Ngaujah, will dedicate the January 25th performance to The Actors Fund, granting proceeds to the fund in support of their programs and services. The curtain rises on Monday the 25th at 8:00pm. For information on The Actor's fund, visit www.actorsfund.org.

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will open on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) tonight. Performances began on Monday, October 19

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will perform on NBC's 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' on Tonight at 12:35am EST.

FELA!, currently playing at the Eugene O'Neill on Broadway starring Lillias White and Sahr Ngaujah, will dedicate the January 25th performance to The Actors Fund, granting proceeds to the fund in support of their programs and services. The curtain rises on Monday the 25th at 8:00pm. For information on The Actor's fund, visit www.actorsfund.org.

Sting and Alicia Keys were amongst other well-known music and entertainment personalities to visit the Broadway sensation Fela! during its first week run, and the praise for this dazzling production was unanimous.

Producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith announced today that beginning January 6, the new critically acclaimed Broadway musical Fela! will add Wednesday matinee performances to its weekly schedule and push back Sunday matinee times to 3pm. The new schedule, beginning Tuesday, January 5 will be as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 2pm & 8pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sunday at 3pm (except Sunday, January 10 when curtain is 2pm).

The New York Times this week profiles the women of FELA! - the nine unnamed, almost speechless figures that decorate the stage of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, representing the 27 wives of the Nigerian Afrobeat musician and political activist.

It is Theatre Development Fund's belief that future audiences are built by engaging students, first-hand, in the vital and exciting activity of the creative process, as well as providing opportunities to see live performances of great theatre.

Variety reports that Fela!,will get big screen treatment by Hunger director Steve McQueen. Like the musical, the film is based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti as written in the book, Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon, by Michael Veal.

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, performed on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report' on Monday, December 7 at 11:30pm EST.