Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
jeffmiele
Broadway Star Joined: 11/6/07
#2Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:18pmI didn't enjoy it at all when I saw it the first time it was on Broadway. I've never walked out of a show but that was one that I really came close to.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#2Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:20pm
Here are some thoughts from the original Broadway production. I liked it and probably would have voted for it to win the Tony that year (which isn't saying much considering the nominees but I digress).
It was certainly...a very divisive show.
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1005819
Updated On: 4/11/13 at 10:20 PM
#3Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:21pm
Fair play to you if it did nothing for you, but I thought it was a special thing indeed. Knowing a passing amount of Fela's music and influence (but not a lot about his life or political struggles), it was such a treat, to me, to see him get a spotlight in front of an audience not likely accustomed to his story or his style. The performers were tremendous, as you rightly noted, and I also loved getting a chance to see Antibalas live as the house band (their albums are great stuff.)
I thought the concept was thin but very effective at showcasing a great amount of the man's story, and most of all incredibly entertaining on both a theatrical and musical level. That it was unlike most everything I've seen and likely will see again just added to it. Loved it, and it made me more interested in his music and his legacy.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
JackHell
Swing Joined: 4/11/13
#4Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:21pmNo I hated it I did understand the point of the show
#5Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:37pmI didn't hate it, but you can count me among the unimpressed. It had redeeming elements, but overall it was not my thing.
#7Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/11/13 at 10:42pm
Let's focus on what's important... How was Michelle?
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
oasisjeff
Broadway Star Joined: 11/15/07
#8Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:27am
If you walk out mid-show, you're kind of dissing the show. Which is fine, if you hate it.
But if you walk out as soon as the curtain call starts, you're dissing the actors. What did they do wrong? Perform the show you paid to see very well?
Now t/d/b/a haterobics on here.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#9Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:38am
I never saw the show on B'way, but saw the original off b'way production (with Susan Sarandon sitting next to me). I was totally immersed in the world and moved.
To each his own. But, yes, to leave AT curtain call is rude.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
srg129
Stand-by Joined: 7/15/08
#10Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:44amNo. You are right. This show was a complete and total disaster. Boring and with screeching singing all night long. Basically a waste of space on Broadway.
#11Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:59amIt was awful
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#12Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 10:36amI didn't hate it, but if it hadn't been so loud it would have been a PERFECT show to sleep to.
#13Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 10:41amI loved it on Broadway. The only show I'd recommend SRO over an actual seat.
#14Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 12:30pmI wouldn't go so far as to say I hated it but it was definitely not my cup of tea.
"I wish the stage were as narrow as the wire of a tightrope dancer, so that no incompetent would dare step upon it." Goethe
#15Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 12:36pm
I loved Fela. The rush seats by the runway were a lot of fun and you got to interact with cast at times. I knew nothing about Fela's life nor music before seeing it and now I'm a fan.
The production was very theatrical and the choreography excellent. I was rooting for Sahr to win the Tony too.
It wasn't the best year for new musicals, but Fela was the cream of that crop, IMO.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#16Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 12:41pm
I'm not a fan of Fela Kuti's music, but the cast's energy was infectious.
And Lilias White is a goddess, so that was a plus.
I'd never see it again though.
....but the world goes 'round
Emmaloucbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/16/11
#17Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 1:49pmI had no desire to see it at all, so I can't say that I "hated" it.
Wildcard
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#18Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:07pmI didn't like the show and the music wasn't my cup of tea but it made me curious to learn more about Fela Kuti's story.
OrdinaryJukebox
Featured Actor Joined: 6/7/06
#19Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 2:34pmI'm sure you're not the only person who hated it. I wouldn't even consider seeing it. How/why there would be a musical produced about an ignorant, chauvinistic, homophobic, and sexist individual is beyond me. Would anyone on this board be quick to flock to (and praise) a musical about a racist?
#20Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 5:24pmThere is no show that isn't disliked by someone. Am I the only person who knows this?
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#21Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 6:31pm
My reaction after seeing the original production was more admiration for both the cast and creating such a vivid theatrical experience, but at the same time - not being a fan of the music I felt somewhat distanced.
The touring company played Toronto about a year later and once again though I enjoyed the performances, I still did not connect with the show. My friend who attended with me made no bones about it - he HATED it. He did not even appreciate teh theatricality of the show. So you are not alone. No one is alone...
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#22Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/12/13 at 6:35pmI didn't hate it, but I didn't get it. Or go gaga over it like most. After about 20 mins and settling in, I started wondering how long it was going to be ... Performances were amazing, just not exactly my kinda show.
#23Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/13/13 at 8:58amI was totally bored. When asked to get up and dance around, I felt as though I were at a tacky wedding. Definitely not my cuppa.
DAME
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
#24Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/17/13 at 1:46pmIt was a waste of my money.
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
BwayFan4
Chorus Member Joined: 5/25/05
#25Am I the only person who hated FELA!?
Posted: 4/17/13 at 1:50pm
HAHA. I just wrote on the other thread that I didn't like Matilda that much, but that I didn't hate it or anything...
FELA I hated... If I had a cyanide capsule handy I would have considered it... (a bit dramatic, but that is how miserable I was... I couldn't even figure out which song we were on in the program to count them down to the end...lol). Never again.
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