Fela
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Fela! is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. The musical is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine. Fela! ran Off-Broadway for one month in 2008. It premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on November 23, 2009, and ran until January 2011. The Off-Broadway production won the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Musical, Outstanding Choreographer for Bill T. Jones, and Outstanding Costume Design for Marina Draghici. The Broadway production received eleven 2010 Tony Award nominations and won Best Choreography, Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical. Alex Gibney's 2014 documentary film Finding Fela followed aspects of the Broadway musical, and drew heavily on interviews with Jones.
Fela is a diminutive of Olufela used as a nickname. People with the name include: Fela Kuti (Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì, Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, 1938–1997), Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Durotoye (Adetokunbo Olufela Durotoye, born 19711), Nigerian business consultant and politician Fela Sowande (Olufela Obafunmilayo Sowande, 1905–1987), Nigerian musician and composer
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