Anyone going to FELA! tonight (first preview)? — Page 3

I have to agree with WAT on this one. I saw it tonight and hated it from start to finish. It all felt like one HUGE Bill T. Jones ego trip. I didn't care for Sahr, Lillias White sounded absolutely terrible, and the choreography was a very inaccurate depiction of traditional African dance. It was all too modern. The only good part about the entire show was Saycon. To me, the whole thing felt stylistically like a cross between Hair and Rock of Ages, with the content incorporated in a Passing Strange meets Wikipedia kind of way. Very dull.

I didn't love it. I appreciated it's artistic merit, but didn't care for the score or much of the storytelling. It looked like Shakespeare, however, compared to Fela!

Ok - I waited more than a day after seeing FELA! to see if my response to the show would mellow a bit. Not.

This is one of the most infuriating shows I have ever seen on Broadway. It takes a fascinating personality and context and reduces it to a light show. This is so overproduced that it literally boggles the mind. Obviously Bill T. Jones and his lighting designer never met a light bulb they didn't like. There are more projectors at work than in the world's largest multiplex, and there are probably more light cues than there are stars in the heavens. We don't get anywhere near a disco, but have three disco balls, lights swirl and whirl constantly (often blinding those of us seated 2nd row mezz), and at one point bright green lights were flashing across the audience - and it was NOT during one of the numbers when cast members invaded the audience. Poor Lillias White cannot seem to get away from the "spectral aura" that accompanies her slow, ponderous walks across the upstage bridge. Abd what's with that interminable lava lamp-like endless series of projections?

Too bad that Mr Jones never saw last season's play DISTRACTED, which (among other things) points out how sensory overload can lead to an emotional disconnect. Damn, I felt more emotional connection with Shrek - and I didn't even like that show very much.

Even the choreography was disappointing. I've been a fan of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Co. for years, so I was expecting more. Instead, we get movements that look as if they were copied from native dances in old Tarzan movies.

Directing his first Broadway show, it's as if Jones made a long list of all the various ways of creating moments on stage, and rather than select ones that would serve the project, simply decided to run amok and use everything that was available to him.

If the subject matter was frivolous I probably wouldn't be so angry - but drowning what could be a theatrical powerhouse in a sea of misguided stage antics and excess is very sad.

---

A couple of my good friends saw it last night and came as close as they ever have to walking out of a show. In their words "The atrocity on stage at Broadway on Broadway was actually the best thing about the show."

It's a skip for me.

I strongly hated Passing Strange and I also strongly hated Fela. It was 3 hours 5 minutes when I saw it off-Broadway and was a total ordeal to sit through. Not just too long, but WAY WAY WAY too long. I would have thought they'd have had the common sense to at least trim it to 2 hrs 30 minutes (and even then, it would still be too long). It needs to be cut to 2 hours or less. I found myself sleeping throughout the whole thing and just wishing I was anywhere else. Not an enjoyable way to spend your whole evening. It's very repetitive, has many boring parts, has a convoluted storyline that could be streamlined, and frankly, many of the actors/actresses just didn't appear to be "up to Broadway standards". Parts of it do have a nice energy, but those are overshadowed by the extremely lengthy running time. Michael Riedel from the NY Post agreed it was way too long as well. Not recommended (unless it's cut to 2 hours or less).

BTW the audience participation is really only during Yellow Fever he asks people to stand for about 5 minutes. Every now and then he asks you to say "yeah yeah" . Honestly not a big deal at all . I enjoyed the show .

I saw the show tonight thanks to student rush, and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. The dancing was phenomenal. The band was on fire! The physical production is awesome. I loved how they just took over the theater. I know some of you said it was tacky, but I thought it was awesome. I'm a set whore, and I just loved looking at all the little details. It's a lot bigger show than I would have imagined. The projects, lighting, etc. It's all great. And I think the direction is some of the best I've ever seen. I loved his stage pictures and the way he used dance to get across certain lyrics. But....

But the story just wasn't all that engaging. I think it goes back to the saying "Show us. Don't tell us." Half the time it's Fela explaining his life story and acting out different scenes. I don't get that approach when there's a whole ensemble waiting to be utilized. Why act out the Mother when we know she's in the show? I just didn't find the story all that compelling. Most of the time it was just chanting and watching people dance, which is fine, but I also would have liked a story to go along with it. At the end, when the last projection goes up, and after the song "Rain," I just didn't feel an ounce for Fela. I just didn't care what happened to him, you know? It was more like "Just don't stop the music!" So I'm not sure the show was successful in that aspect, but maybe that's not what they set out to do.

I had Sahr and I thought he was incredible! He just commanded the stage and gave an electric performance. I think the Male Lead in a Musical should actually be interesting this year for once. I think Chad Kimball is giving a great performance over at Memphis as well, so it's hard to say who is better. But I thought Sahr was just a great performer. He had emotion and depth and since I don't know what Fela actually looked like, he basically lived the character for me.

The two female leads were highly unused. I mean Saycon basically did nothing. They introduce her as the "love" interest but then they just discard her and put ensemble make-up on her and she fades away. Why even introduce her? They have this whole bit in Act 2 where Fela "marries" his ensemble, but yet not one mention of his former lover? Again, the story was hard to follow for me, but maybe that's not the point. Lillias White is also just sort of used and forgotten. At least she has two songs, one in each act, where she gets to show off her voice, but there really isn't much for her to "act." She just stands there and looks heavenly.

I don't know. I'm torn. On one hand I thought all the physical aspects and the main character were great, but as a SHOW, I just don't think it worked.

I sort of have to agree. I mean, the point of theater is to entertain, but also to tell a story, no? I mean the basis for all theater is conflict, and there really wasn't any. Everything was sort of shrugged off the shoulder. It was like "oh the army's outside, but who cares, let's dance." The closet the show came to a really moving piece was in the second act when they did the different profiles with the ensemble members, but there wasn't much leading up to it, so I didn't really feel anything. I didn't know why the government came in and did all taht?

I loved how involved the whole show was. Like, for instance the use of the "catwalk," and having the cast members in the aisles and having the set protrude into the audience. All that was great.

WARNING: For those of you wanting to get student rush, I would advise against it. It's $27, but they're obstructed view. They're on the side of the catwalk that makes it hard to see some of the show. Some of the seats didn't seem to be, but a few of them were awful. A lot of the times cast members would be standing on the catwalk totally blocking our views of anything that was happening. Or a lot of times lyrics would be projected onto the back wall of the stage, but since it's obstructed we wouldn't be able to see, therefore, we don't really know what's being said. So maybe that added to my confusion with the show.

I changed to the center orchestra for Act II and that's when I realized how "in" the show I felt. That center part of the orchestra is great. With the set all around you and dancers coming down the aisles, I honestly felt like I was somewhere else rather than in a Broadway theater watching a show.

py·ro·tech·nics [ p?r? tékniks ]


noun

Definition:

1. craft of making fireworks: the craft or skill of making and using fireworks ( takes a singular verb )


2. fireworks display: a display of fireworks ( takes a singular or plural verb )


3. showy display


broadwayrocks2 is absolutely correct - no fireworks.

Go with definition #3 as shown in dictionaries. (I did indeed say theatrical pyrotechnics, but I guess that was lost on some readers.)

---

Bump

---

Updated On: 11/1/09 at 05:28 PM

Yes, Rentboy. The house was more than 3/4 full, but I could see empty seats. The audience reaction was favorable enough, but no one seemed to be jumping up and down either.

---