'Tony' Tipped Musical To Get A National Bow.

Broadway's Fela!, the new Broadway musical set to the music of Afrobeat musician and political figure Fela Anikulapo Kuti, will be produced in London by the National Theatre.

Fela! will begin performances at the National's Olivier Theatre Nov. 6 and officially open Nov. 16. The musical will run in repertory with Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Tony-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones, who also directed and co-conceived the musical, will repeat his duties for the London run that will feature Broadway cast members Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo (who alternate in the title role on Broadway).

Representatives for Fela! told Playbill.com that Ngauhjah will open the London production, while Mambo will remain with the Broadway cast. Subsequently, Mambo will take over in London, and Ngauhjah will rejoin the Broadway run. The remainder of the National cast will be British.

I was shocked that this is coming to London, completely caught out by surprise, I don't think anyone else on here would of predicted this would of came over here too. Especially as In The Heights has not and not showing any sign of coming over.

I was/am going to see this in New York next week, bit of a dilemma whether to see this now, as I might as well see the London production now, one bonus of seeing this in New York is I have not been to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, so be cool to see this house.

I am going to see; The Addams Family - Promises, Promises - A Little Night Music - Next to Normal - In The Heights (sceptical about this one, but a lot of people have said good things).

Got the option of seeing 3 other shows from; Memphis, Fela, American Idiot, Come Fly Away, Sondheim on Sondheim.

No I have not heard Memphis, so on your recommendation I will see this one.

I am doubly going to see Memphis now.

It is likely the other two shows I am going to see are Fela and American Idiot, the only snag for American Idiot is that the tickets available online are crap seats, right on the side of the Orchestra, if I am going to see a show I want to see it well, without paying premium tickets.

Cheers was you meant to say that 'Superior Jam Donuts' will not be around long? I remember originally reading your report always look forward to yours and Bob's New York reviews.

Think I will see both Fela and Memphis.

I will not see Come fly Away as no one is speaking about this on the Broadway board.

Im as shocked as you are Dev.

From Baz, The Daily Mail.

Beyonce's fella Jay-Z is one of the producers behind Fela!, a landmark Broadway show that is transfering to the National Theatre in November.
Fela! is about the Nigerian Afrobeat music legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, probably better known here as just Fela Kuti.
He created the irresistible fusion of West African rhythms, funk, jazz and - hey! - sweat, to come up with a sound that instantly gets you up on your feet and dancing, pelvis thrust out as you swivel from side to side.
The show originated at an off-Broadway house and then moved to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway five months ago. At that point, Stephen Hendel, Fela’s lead producer, reached out to Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) and Will Smith and his wife Jada, who invested $1million between them to become producers.
Fela!’s original star, Sahr Ngaujah, currently to be found wowing them in the aisles in New York, will portray Fela on the National’s Olivier stage, with a first night planned, but not set, for November 16 and, obviously, a run of previews before then.
Ngaujah performs in NY with an alternate, Kevin Mambo, and he will share performances in London.
Fela! will give around 60 to 65 performances from November through to the end of January.
Ngaujah was the key stipulation of Nicholas Hytner, the National’s artistic chief, who saw the actor in Fela! on Broadway.
Hytner and the NT’s executive director Nick Starr also insisted that Fela’s creative team, led by director and choreographer Bill T. Jones, also be involved in the London premiere.
It’s very rare that the National goes outside for productions. Osage:August County and Caroline Or Change were two such shows the theatre brought over from the US.
‘Well, Fela! is that times two!’ Starr told me.
It’s going to be great fun seeing the show at the National and I hope it attracts people outside of the NT’s traditional, mostly middle-class, mostly white, audience.
However, having said that, that base audience, who are busy loving London Assurance at the moment, should adore Fela!
And what’s exciting both the National and Stephen Hendel, Fela!’s lead producer is that it will run in repertory with a production of Hamlet, which Hytner will direct with Rory Kinnear as the Danish prince and Clare Higgins as Gertrude, his conflicted mother.
For Hendel, who conceived and moulded Fela! with Bill T. Jones, and Jim Lewis, who penned the show’s book and wrote additonal lyrics, the National invitation is like a benediction.
‘We are enormously gratified that the most prestigious theatre in the English-speaking world has somehow come to our show, and was moved by our show, and wanted to have a production of it while it’s sill running in New York,’ Hendel told me.

Legend: Nigerian star Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Fela! has been a labour of passion and love for Hendel and his colleagues. I remember the first time I saw it: I had just flown in to New York and I was exhausted, but as I walked into the 37 Arts Theatre I heard the band playing and, suddenly, all was well with the world.
Hendel said: ‘When people come into our theatre in New York and see the band is playing 20 minutes before curtain, and they see how the theatre has been transformed, you can see their bodies relax, their faces open up, their eyes light up, and they start bopping their heads.’ It’s true. You feel and hear the audience’s enjoyment.
At one show, Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy were in the row behind me, dancing away, and a stiff, patrician couple who had seemed rather standoffish earlier on were moving to the beat.
Fela! is celebratory but it doesn’t shy away from Fela Kuti’s shortcomings. He was at one with the ‘weed’; he had a stable of wives; but he also had fascinating rhythm (he loved Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane and James Brown); and he wasn’t afraid to rattle the Nigerian authorities and denounce them for their brutality.
Director Jones weaves all this disparate information, and much more, into a cohesive piece that grabs you by the collar and wakes you up.
Ngaujah’s opening line in Fela! is: ‘We’re going to dance and we’re going to sweat!’
Hendel explained that full casting will begin in London within the next couple of months, and rehearsals will start in September.
The London casting directors will look for a London-based actor to play the title role should Fela! move from the National, and Ngaujah and Mambo have returned to the US.
The NT production is being produced solely by the National, but if it finds favour here then the hope is to move into the West End with the National and the New York producers participating.
Jay-Z and Will and Jada have busy schedules, but Hendel told me: ‘I can’t imagine that they will not come to the First Night in London. I can’t imagine that Jay -Z , and probably Beyonce, too, and Will and Jada will not come.’
He added: ‘In the theatre world it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have your production honoured on the National Theatre stage.’