Dec 09 2009
Feeling FELA!
Uncommon to the other events that I have attended so far I found FELA captivating. From the second I walked into the Eugene O’Neil Theater the air changed mostly because of the music. The mood could not have been set better if it was not longer a show but reality.
The thing that caught my attention throughout this show was that the audience never lost interest, and that was in part because of the interest in the show, and also because of Sahr Ngaujah. From the beginning he got the audience involved and he never looked back, never lost them. I found this show to be both entertaining and informative.
What impressed me the most however was that despite all the dread of yet another even, it would have been a great challenge to find a person who regretted attending. Even Brantley would agree, fantastic performance.
Sahr Ngaujah was amazing. I wonder if we would have liked FELA! as much if the other guy were leading that night. I’m betting probably, because even if it wouldn’t be the same experience, the guy was still selected due to his acting abilities.
Sahr Ngaujah isn’t the only Fela.. I wonder how different, if any different, the performance is. Brantley makes it seem as if there is no change whatsoever. I guess it really doesn’t matter if you put even a caucasian man acting as Fela, as long as you keep Fela’s passion for Nigeria alive!
True. the audience was truly captivated and all because of the dynamis and powerful performance of the Sahr Ngaujah. He was on stage from the first scene to the last. Although the show involved great dances and music, I felt like it was a one man show as it was Sahr Ngaujah (fela) who was the heart an d soul. His charayer added meaning to the whole performance.