FEELING BAD ABOUT FELA

Since we started this blog, we are usually so excited to write about what we’ve seen; we’re composing in the cab on the way home (except of course when he had food poisoning from eating at Glass House Tavern). We saw FELA last Wednesday night and decided to write this tonight, after ditching an incredibly long line at the movies and winding up with an unexpected free night. Even a little detour to the Container Store left us with plenty of time to blog.

So now here we are about to write about FELA and not only do we have difficulty pronouncing the name of the show, we really don’t even know what to say.

The minute you enter the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, you are immediately transported to Lagos, Nigeria in the 1970’s and the electricity of the show grabs your attention, with decorations unlike most other Broadway shows. The musicians, already playing on stage as you enter, transport you to the owner’s nightclub. The ushers neurotically remind everyone to keep the aisles clear, so you know that this show is going to be interactive. All of the ingredients normally needed for a successful Broadway show are in FELA; an incredibly talented cast, innovative costumes and make-up, creatively choreographed dancing, use of multi-media and an interesting soundtrack.

So what was our problem? Despite the fact that FELA “looks great on paper,” it was surprisingly slow at times, which is hard to imagine given the high energy level. Straining to understand the accents from the almost totally Nigerian cast, just took too much effort. We are struggling to write this as much as we struggled to understand the cast.

What intrigued Cathy the most was the bird’s eye view of the bunions on the dancer’s bare feet and what struck Jeff the most was the guys in the band bopped along with the cast. Pretty sad, eh? We can’t say that it was a bad experience but we can’t say that we would recommend this show either. MEMPHIS it’s not.

Up next: RECIPE FOR LIFE