Fela...am I the only one...?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:53am

...who couldn't stand the entire thing? I know this is going to get me tarred and feathered on here, but here goes...

I sat there all night ready to slit my wrists. It may have replaced Passing Strange as the worst show I've ever seen. The actor who plays Fela (Kevin Mambo this evening) works hard, and I give him a lot of credit for a very demanding role, but to what end? The whole thing is messily incoherent. The "songs" have no melody, and the structure is beyond bizarre. The low point is the 20 minute segment on feces in act 1. Act 1 is apparently a concert, but then act 2 becomes a pseudo-book musical, oddly reminiscent of Hair.

The whole thing seemed like a giant mess. The only high point was the sadly underused Lillias White getting to sing "Rain," the one song in the score that actually had a melody to it. The lighting was very good. I loved Jones' work on Spring Awakening immensely, but found this to be a disaster. I couldn't wait for it to end.


Updated On: 2/28/10 at 12:53 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:57am

I was there with Adam. And I mostly agree. I found act one to be excruciatingly painful to sit through. I thought it was truly awful. I wanted to leave at intermission, but we stayed. Act two was a slight improvement. This act was visually impressive. And have to agree that White's scene/song was the highlight of the entire show.

This was just not my type of musical. I would rather sit through MEMPHIS again, and I disliked that musical as well.
Updated On: 2/28/10 at 12:57 AM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 3:12am

I agree with you both, it was just terrible and I kept looking at my watch every 5 minutes. Rave reviews! Go figure!!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 5:42am

I saw the OFF B'way run (Sat next to Susan Sarandon...sorry: i don't have many opportunities to mention that!). I really enjoyed it...was sucked in by the intensity...but I'm not sure how that would survive a b'way house.

As for the music, it is very different from our sensibilities as it is already existing music, the AfroBeat which is accredited TO Fela. Not music I would enjoy simply listening to at home, but organic and intriguing.

That being said: I waited and waited for the vid. of PS when it was realeased last year. I had missed seeing in on B'way by about a week! I couldn't get through it....at all.

[Will O'Donnell]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 9:33am

I also hated it (and the feces segment was one of the worst scenes I've ever had to sit through), but towards the end of the show it did improve quite a bit (primarily because of reasons that have already been stated).

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 10:10am

I disagree completely. I loved the show, but you really have to go into it not expecting a full-on book musical. It's a loosely woven intro into a fascinating man's life using his music. Afrobeat is afrobeat, if you don't like it, you don't like it, but i didn't think I liked it going into the show and the cast's electric delivery of the songs made me love it.

And it's not a "20-minute feces scene". Yikes. You make it sound like the whole cast takes a huge dump on the stage. It's about 3 minutes tops of Fela talking about being tested for drugs (yes, using his poop) by the police and how he eventually fooled them.

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 10:52am

Definiktely one of the worst musicals I've ever seen on Broadway (and I've seen 'em, believe me .... going all the way back to Rockabye Hamlet and Starmites .....). I've seen better African dancing in old Tarzan movies, the staging and production design is an exercise in sensory overload, and it's not even informative: how many in the audience understand that those are his "27 wives", and of course there is never a mention that he died of AIDS.

Not entertaining, AND dishonest!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 11:26am

"Definiktely one of the worst musicals I've ever seen on Broadway (and I've seen 'em, believe me .... going all the way back to Rockabye Hamlet and Starmites .....). I've seen better African dancing in old Tarzan movies, the staging and production design is an exercise in sensory overload, and it's not even informative: how many in the audience understand that those are his "27 wives", and of course there is never a mention that he died of AIDS.

Not entertaining, AND dishonest!"

I agree completely.

[Patash]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:00pm

For my recent month in New York, I had planned to see Fela from the start, but every time I saw one of those trailers on TV I just seemed to lose more and more interest. I didn't even find those exciting and wasn't sure how I'd find a whole evening of it. So I passed in favor of 25 other shows over the course of the month instead. Thanks to those here who have added to my confidence that I made the right decision.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:01pm

how many in the audience understand that those are his "27 wives", and of course there is never a mention that he died of AIDS.

I didn't, until I re-read Brantley's ridiculous "review" afterwards. I assumed they were just dancers at the club.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:40pm

I join the crowd of the naysayers -- saw it last fall and it was one of the most God-awful, painful things I've ever sat through. It's not just a case of this not being my "kind" of music -- I was okay with Passing Strange last year, have the album and generally liked it, even though that music genre is not my cup of hemlock. And, unfortunately, there just hasn't been all that much competition this season. Even if Addams Family is able to do some repair work, I doubt that it will get "got to see it at all costs" types of reviews. Memphis was okay, but -- well, it was okay. American Idiot seems like the show most likely to give Fela! a run for its money, but time will tell. Come Fly Away -- well, it IS Twyla Tharp (and especially, John Selya) -- but look what happened with the Bob Dylan piece. And I'm not so sure that rushing Scottoboro Boys into a Broadway house at the last minute is a great idea -- it would be a rushed job reconfiguring it for a Broadway house. It SOUNDS like it's going to be a good show.

Sooo, I'm left with the PAINFUL conclusion that Fela! may take the Tony this year.

[Sauja]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 12:47pm

They pretty openly talk about the fact that he took all of these dancers in as his "wives." And why would it be necessary to talk about the fact that he died of AIDS? The show is about the spirit of Fela, his role in the development of Afrobeat, and his courage to lead a movement in the face of intense oppression. It's a celebration of what he represented and created more than it is a biography.

It's a show that does have some problems (the audience participation is SO clunky, and there is a bit of a disconnect between Acts 1 and 2), but in general, I believe it's one of the best things on Broadway right now.

And I'm with PiraguaGuy on the supposed "Feces scene." He tells a story about not being able to to #2 to avoid drug testing. It's not that long of a story, and it's completely relevant.

[cglaid]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 1:10pm

I really disliked it as well and was so glad I only paid student rush prices to see it. While I thought the dancing and the overall cultural feeling was great (I loved the transformation of the Eugene O'Neill theater), I felt like it didn't have one, let alone two, legs to stand on.

The story, what little there was, was manipulative. I think they figured, well, we can throw a broken piece in here and there and it will be shocking enough to stand on its own. Well it didn't and I too couldn't wait to be out of the show.

[Brick]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 1:24pm

I doubt you're the only one.

But I loved every second.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 3:15pm

How is it incoherent? It's obviously not a traditional narrative in any sense (neither is Passing Strange or Hair for that matter), but I don't understand how anyone could call it incoherent. If anything, it's overly coherent, the story is essentially told to you.

Just as the other shows I've mentioned, I don't think one can judge Fela by the same standards they would a more conventional piece of musical theater. It's more about immersion and experience than plot.

I was totally sucked in. Updated On: 2/28/10 at 03:15 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 3:22pm

I didn't even wait until intermission to leave. First time I'd ever done that.

[phantom39]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 3:58pm

Never had the desire to see this show as well... Even with the rave reviews, I just can't find anything about it interesting.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 4:02pm

If nothing else, this thread shows just how much the show is dividing audiences. I haven't actually counted up the responses, but it seems close to 50/50 in terms of pro and con.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 7:41pm

Wasn't Fela a big homophobe & opposed to women's rights?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 8:13pm

I don't know about a homophobe, but I doubt he was opposed to women's rights, given that his mother was a radical feminist (at least as depicted in the show).

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 2/28/10 at 8:26pm

I have studied Fela/enjoy his music/am extremely interested in African history, and STILL found this to be boring and self-indulgently long.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/1/10 at 1:59pm

I agree with everything said by everyone who hated it.

[followyourbliss23]

Posted: 3/1/10 at 2:37pm

i loved 'fela' off broadway and on...but then again i think 'wicked' is trite, overblown and lacking in musicality, so my tastes differ from most on this site.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/1/10 at 3:42pm

I can understand thinking Wicked is trite and overblown, but I don't think I'd ever say it was lacking in musicality.

I have absolutely no interest in seeing Fela. It simply isn't my thing. I'd much prefer a revival of Sarafina.