Fela! - West End Creative Team

Ruth and Stephen Hendel. Ruth’s Broadway credits include: In The Heights; Passing Strange; Legally Blonde; Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway; High Fidelity; The Lieutenant of Inishmore; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Caroline, Or Change; A Raisin in the Sun; Golda’s Balcony; Frozen; ‘Night Mother; Steel Magnolias; Barefoot in the Park; Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Altar Boyz; Our Lady of 121st Street; The Exonerated; Red Light Winter; tick tick…Boom!. Los Angeles: As Much As You Can. Ruth is on the boards of the LAByrith Theater, The Play Company and the Yale School of Drama Leadership Committee; She is vice-chair, and Stephen ... read more Bill T. Jones is the artistic director/co-founder of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and founding artistic director of New York Live Arts. He is the recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Award; the 2013 Presidential Medal of the Arts, the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; Tony Awards for Best Choreography for FELA! and Spring Awakening; Obie Award and Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; the 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 ... read more Broadway credits include Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Tony®, Drama Desk Nominations), Dangerous Games (with Graciela Daniele), Tango Apaisionado. Dance/Opera: Paul Dresher's The Tyrant; Ballet Hispanico's Nightclub; Philip Glass' Les Enfants Terribles (BAM); PastFORWARD (Mikhail Baryshnikov, BAM). Translations: Ionesco's The Chairs; Ibsen's Lady From The Sea. Dramaturge: House Arrest (Anna Deavere Smith); Dream On Monkey Mountain (Bill T. Jones); Art Spiegelman's Drawn To Death; Dido And Aeneas (Spoleto); Bill T. Jones 20th Anniversary Still/Here (BAM). He is currently working on This Beautiful City with The Civilians, touring nationally with an NYC premiere set for January 2009 ... read more Pippa Ailion has cast over 180 productions internationally. She was Resident Associate Director for Jonathan Miller at The Old Vic between 1987 and 1991. Natalie has worked alongside Pippa for 13 years. West End: Tina The Musical, Dreamgirls, Motown, The Book Of Mormon, Wicked, The Lion King, On Your Feet!, Sunny Afternoon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Go-Between, Billy Elliot, Bend It Like Beckham, Memphis, We Will Rock You, Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Legally Blonde and Spring Awakening. UK tour: Funny Girl, Motown and Wicked. Other selected credits: Twelfth Night, Rocketman, One Love: The Bob Marley Musical, ... read more Maija Garcia is a Cuban-American director and choreographer based in Harlem. In 2015 Garcia served as director of movement and choreography on Spike Lee’s latest film Chi-Raq. In the same year she directed Salsa, Mambo Cha Cha Cha in Havana; premiered FELA! The Concert in Australia and New Zealand; and choreographed the new hit musical CUBA LIBRE at Artists Repertory Theater. Garcia's work is described as ‘enormous, emotive, and furiously political.’ -Portland Mercury Associate Choreographer to Bill T. Jones in developing the Tony award winning musical FELA! on Broadway and at the National Theater of London, Garcia ... read more Bill T. Jones is the artistic director/co-founder of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and founding artistic director of New York Live Arts. He is the recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Award; the 2013 Presidential Medal of the Arts, the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; Tony Awards for Best Choreography for FELA! and Spring Awakening; Obie Award and Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; the 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 ... read more Cookie Jordan is a multi-talented actress, singer, and dancer who has made a name for herself in both stage and screen. She was born and raised in New York City, where she began her career in the arts at a young age. Her passion for performing led her to pursue a degree in theater at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Jordan made her Broadway debut in the original production of "Dreamgirls" in 1981, where she played the role of Effie White. Her powerful vocals and emotional performance earned her critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for Best ... read more Robert Kaplowitz is a Tony Award-winning sound designer with an impressive career in theater, film, and television. Born in New York City, Kaplowitz attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he received a BFA in Film and Television Production. Kaplowitz began his career in sound design working on off-Broadway productions before making his Broadway debut in 1998 with the play "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." Since then, he has worked on numerous Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning shows "Fela!," "The Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening," and "The Band's Visit." In addition to his work on Broadway, Kaplowitz has also ... read more Peter's Broadway credits include SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, A Doll's House, Part 2, An Act of God, Amalie, A New Musical, Fela!, The Heidi Chronicles, and The Best Man. His other credits include Grounded and Here Lies Love (The Public Theater), Wakey, Wakey (Signature Theatre), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Second Stage Theater), Notes from Underground (Yale Repertory Theatre), The Grace Jones Hurricane Tour, Rent (New World Stages), Real Enemies (BAM Next Wave Festival), and Blind Date (Bill T. Jones). For Nature Theater of Oklahoma, No Dice and Life & Times (Burgtheater, Vienna). His upcoming ... read more Niegel Smith is a director, writer, and performance artist known for his innovative and socially conscious work. He was born in the Bronx and raised in Maryland, and he holds a B.A. in directing from Howard University and an M.F.A. in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama. Smith has directed a wide range of productions, from classic plays to experimental works. He is perhaps best known for his work with the theater company The Flea, where he served as artistic director from 2012-2017. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of numerous new plays and helped to establish The Flea ... read more