Fela Kuti News

New York City Center's seventh annual Fall for Dance Festival, running September 28 - October 9, will showcase 20 national and international companies and choreographers. With ticket prices remaining at $10 for all seats, a night of dance is more affordable than a night at the movies. The festival will include world and U.S. premieres, and will feature several companies making their first U.S. appearances.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is thrilled to announce it will be screening National Theatre Live's second season in high-definition at their beautiful theatre.

FELA! will receive Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) fourth annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. The award, the only industry award of its kind, honors the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical. The award ceremony will be held in the Council Room, at Equity's headquarters in the heart of Times Square on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Multi-Grammy Award-winner and international recording superstar Patti LaBelle opened in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! last night, September 14. LaBelle will perform in Fela! through its scheduled closing on January 2, 2011.

Multi-Grammy Award-winner and international recording superstar Patti LaBelle opened in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! last night, September 14. LaBelle will perform in Fela! through its scheduled closing on January 2, 2011. BroadwayWorld was on hand for LaBelle's opening night curtain call and after party and brings you photo coverage below!

As BroadwayWorld previously speculated, producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth & Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay will welcome Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle to the cast of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Tuesday, September 14, when she takes over the role of Fela's mother (Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti) through Sunday, January 2, 2011, when the show will play its final scheduled performance. Tony Award-winner Lillias White (who received a 2010 Tony Nomination for her performance in this production) will play her final performance on September 12. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Design. It is currently playing at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) where it opened to rave reviews on November 23.

Audiences will have the opportunity to grab a sneak-peek of the legendary multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle in the Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, both at 8pm.

Audiences will have the opportunity to grab a sneak-peek of the legendary multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle in the Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, both at 8pm.

This week, on August 24, Fox's So You Think You Can Dance featured a special number of FELA!'s 'Zombie,' choreographed by Tony-winner Bill T. Jones. Click below to see the performance!

The Collective and The Regulators bring pop culture to the stage. The Collective presents POP ART on Friday, August 20, 2010 at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. The concert begins at 8:00pm. POP ART infuses The Collective's modern dance roots with elements of hip hop, swing, capoeira, and salsa to create an upbeat mix of dances that reflect pop culture. POP ART also features local nine member poppin crew The Regulators, under the direction of Talbot Johnson who will bring their formidable street dancing skills to the stage. Tickets are $15/general admission; $12/students and seniors. Tickets are available at www.creativealliance.org, by calling 410.276.1651, or at the door.

Amphora Records will release Toubab Soul, the first full-length studio recording by Barcelona's Alma Afrobeat Ensemble, on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.

As BroadwayWorld previously speculated, producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ruth & Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay will welcome Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle to the cast of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! on Tuesday, September 14, when she takes over the role of Fela's mother (Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti) through Sunday, January 2, 2011, when the show will play its final scheduled performance. Tony Award-winner Lillias White (who received a 2010 Tony Nomination for her performance in this production) will play her final performance on September 12. Fela! received three 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Design. It is currently playing at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) where it opened to rave reviews on November 23.

Photographer Marilyn Nance is suing the musical FELA! for unauthorized use of one of her photographs, the New York Post reports.

The cast and crew of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela!, based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will be honored by New York City Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Julissa Ferreras on the Steps of City Hall on Thursday, July 29.

Joe's Pub has recently added Lynn Loosier (8/12), Lindsay Mendez & the Marco Paguia Trio (8/26), Kate Havnevik (8/27), Carrie Manolakos (8/30), Jennifer Knapp (8/31), Johnnyswim w/ Special Guest Maya Azucena (9/11), Man in Black Burlesque: Because You're Mine, I Bump 'n' Grind (9/11), Heathers: The Musical (9/13), Happy Ending Music and Reading Series featuring Darin Strauss, Matthew Sharpe, Kristin Hersh & musical guest Anni Rossi (9/15), Girls Like Us feat. Melissa Hammans, Elizabeth Stanley, Carey Anderson & more! (9/19), Abigail Washburn (9/24), Portico Quartet (9/28) & Kim Richey w/ special guest Hannah Schneider (10/11). For more information about any show, please visit JOESPUB.COM.

New York City Center's seventh annual Fall for Dance Festival, running September 28 - October 9, will showcase 20 national and international companies and choreographers. With ticket prices remaining at $10 for all seats, a night of dance is more affordable than a night at the movies. The festival will include world and U.S. premieres, and will feature several companies making their first U.S. appearances.

Michael Riedel reports in the New York Post this morning that songbird Patti LaBelle will be joining the Broadway cast of FELA! in September as Fela's mother. She will be filling in for Lillias White, who has concert obligations in Australia that month.

Bringing the Great White Way downtown to Castle Clinton National Monument, the Alliance for Downtown New York will present three nights of free outdoor concerts featuring Broadway-themed performances by Madeleine Peyroux, Duncan Sheik, and Antibalas as part of the River To River Festival.

The New York Times reports that Femi Kuti, son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, saw FELA! while in New York on Sunday. Previously, Kuti would not see the production unless it was brought to Lagos, where his father originally built the nightclub. On Saturday, over a World Cup viewing with FELA! co-conceiver and producer Stephen Hendel, Kuti was promised the show will see a production in Lagos. Said Hendel: 'We're going to keep our word.'

The Collective and The Regulators bring pop culture to the stage. The Collective presents POP ART on Friday, August 20, 2010 at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. The concert begins at 8:00pm. POP ART infuses The Collective's modern dance roots with elements of hip hop, swing, capoeira, and salsa to create an upbeat mix of dances that reflect pop culture. POP ART also features local nine member poppin crew The Regulators, under the direction of Talbot Johnson who will bring their formidable street dancing skills to the stage. Tickets are $15/general admission; $12/students and seniors. Tickets are available at www.creativealliance.org, by calling 410.276.1651, or at the door.