Shawn "JZ" Carter and WIll & Jada Pinkett Smith present FELA!

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 8:06pm

Desperate much?

http://www.felaonbroadway.com/

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/134628-Jay-Z-Will-and-Jada-Smith-Added-to-Fela!-Producing-Team
Updated On: 11/16/09 at 08:06 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:47pm

What does that really mean? Didn't they have enough producers if they opened the show on Broadway? Or is it just so they can say "Jay-Z and Will Smith present"? Did they see the show? Were they not as confused by it as everyone else?

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:49pm

Or is it just so they can say "Jay-Z and Will Smith present"?

Pretty much. But they're not Oprah.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:57pm

Oh goody! Now I must get myself down to the theater! Without their names attached, I don't think I would seen it.

/sarcasm

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/16/09 at 11:58pm

Rentboy, they're black, so they obviously understood it better than us white folks.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 12:08am

I guess that's true. Afrobeat just isn't in my vocabulary. I kept thinking "maybe I'll just fall in love with the music." But nope. It's a lot of chanting and word combinations that I don't quite get. It was pretty to look at, ha.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 12:13am

Nope, you have to be black. That's why Big Willie, Hawthorne, and Z Daddy were brought it. To get people who truly understand Fela! seeing the show.

[mina3]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 12:17am

I don't see what the big deal really is - Jay-Z and Beyonce saw the show and loved it, and Will & Jada must have done the same, so they wanted to put their money behind it. If their names draw new audiences, good for them and good for the show. If not, they just contributed to something they believe in. Where's the problem?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 12:26am

I think our point is their names going over the title halfway through previews.

And if Sasha Fierce is so in love with the show why isn't her name (whatever she's calling herself this album) up there too?

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 8:20pm

It'll be a nice tax write-off.

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 8:33pm

LOL

too funny.

[Brick]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 11:34pm

I hope they can bring some much-needed attention this show. I'm happy their onboard, though not surprised since it was mentioned by Reidel during their Off-Broadway run.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 11:38pm

This is INCREDIBLY racist.

INCREDIBLY.

Anyone too "liberal" to see that is blind.

This makes me lose some respect for Jay-Z (never had any for Will or Jada - talk about no-talents!). I would understand him promoting a rap musical, but this just REEKS of transparent racism.

P

[scaryclowns2232]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 11:40pm

BobbyBubby

I'm a bit troubled/confused by your comments here. They clearly don't intend to be racist (and are clearly in jest), but they come off extremely racist.

FELA, a show that will have a hard time finding an audience, is appealing to a specific demographic, using one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and a hip hop legend. Is that a problem for you?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/17/09 at 11:41pm

This is an urban retelling of the Frank Loesser classic, right?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 12:03am

Yep scaryclows I'm a big racist.

Yes Phyllis. The Most Happy Fela.

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 1:06am

Scaryclowns is a looney - I'm with Pgenre and Bobby on this one. No one's comments have been racist in this thread.

It is a problem; it's offensive. If you can't see that? Then just forget it.

[scaryclowns2232]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 1:26am

Against my best judgment, I do feel the need to explain myself.

I see how the producers' acts can be deemed racist, but I don't think it implies any idea that white people couldn't understand the show.

By putting their names on the marquee, they are reaching out towards one audience to whom they believe the show will most appeal. This audience, the African American community, generally does not visit the theatre as much as the Caucasian/White community.(I am not profiling. There are statistics to support this.) Thus, they must try harder to attract what they might deem to be the key to their success- an unconventional and yet massive audience. The white audience, to a certain extent, is already there. The black audience needs to be further developed.

This totally ignores the fact that both Jay-Z and Will Smith (Jada is a minor celebrity) have significant white followings, and that the prominence of their names will attract audiences of all ethnicities, based on star power alone.

This is an economic decision, and a question of advertising. This is a business, and Fela's best shot at good business right now is to appeal most directly to the group most likely to relate to the show, persons of color. They aren't telling you as a white audience member, that you won't enjoy it. They aren't telling you that you that you won't get it.

The equivalent (to a lesser extent) would be to argue that the Sex & the City movie is sexist for advertising primarily towards a female audience. They are targeting those most likely to come and see it, not those most likely to enjoy it or to "get" it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:17am

Yeah, I don't really see the offense in this. Would it have been acceptable if a few white celebrity producers jumped on the bandwagon to produce?

I don't get how this is saying that black people understand this show better than white people, nor do I see any problem with trying to bring in a more diverse audience.

[joe5]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:47am

*Rentboy they are black, so they obviously understood it better than us white folks*

I'm white, and have been going to Broadway shows for many years.
I understood the show completely. Perhaps they can relate a little more. It has nothing to do with understanding.

And I loved it!!!!!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:48am

It goes back to some thread I started FOREVER ago about why certain ethnicities only seem to go see the shows that involve their ethnicities. Why don't black people go see Next to Normal? But they go see August Wilson? I just don't get it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/18/09 at 10:51am

It's because only black people are racist.