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Check out these vids from FELA! cast member Abena Koomson who's documenting her trip through Lagos as they bring their smash hit Broadway show home to the people of Nigeria. Last night they played the Kuti family's New Afrika Shrine to, as Reuters reported, a crammed-in crowd of "cultural stars, bohemians and 'area boys'." The shows in Lagos come on the eve of the Nigerian election, and have a pointed political message for the current crop of Nigerian big men and politicians. Femi Kuti, who just launched his new album, gave the occasion a historical context, "it's what (Patrice) Lumumba died for, what (Nelson) Mandela stood for, what Malcolm X stood for, Martin Luther King - all those great fighters are still coming alive again through my father, through this play, through the Shrine."
Watch part 2 of Abena's tour diary, where the cast gets a warm welcome from Yeni & Femi Kuti. And stay tuned: FELA! may soon be coming to a theater near you...
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