FELA!, the most critically acclaimed new musical of the season, received three 2010 Tony Awards®: Best Choreography, Best Costume Design for a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Musical!
Motivated by his mother, a civil rights champion, he defied a corrupt and oppressive military government and devoted his life and music to the struggle for freedom and human dignity.
FELA! is a triumphant tale of courage, passion and love, featuring Fela Kuti’s captivating music and the visionary direction and choreography of Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones.
EVERYBODY SAY YEAH YEAH!
FELA! played its final performance on Broadway on January 2, 2011.
FELA! THE MUSICAL WILL BE SHOWING AT THE EXPO CENTER,EKO HOTEL IN LAGOS,NIGERIA BETWEEN THE 20th - 25th APRIL 2011
PRE-BOOKING OF VIP TICKETS, CORPORATE SALES & TABLES STARTS From March 2, 2011 at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
THE CAST AND CREATIVE
Kevin Mambo (Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) two-time Emmy winner for Guiding Light, comes to FELA! from Off- Broadway’s Ruined. Film/TV: Cadillac Records, One Life to Live (recurring), Soul Food (recurring), Any Day Now, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Deadline, Trial By Jury, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Spin City, Family Matters, Freshman Dorm, The Firing Squad, One of Us Tripped. Other NY theatre includes Hoodoo Love (Cherry Lane), Once Around the Sun (Zipper), Roberto Zucco (Empire Theatre Co.), The Last Detail (Lucille Lortel), Fela Is a Weapon (Shrine). Upcoming recordings from Blaz & the 88 Sound, Audio Deluxe, Black Astronauts and Mamborena. Thank you mom for keeping Africa alive in me. Makorokoto.
Patti LaBelle (Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti) “Beautiful” simply does not describe the incomparable force known to the world as Patti LaBelle. As time continues to evolve, the soulful songbird’s name has become synonymous with grace, style, elegance and class. Belting out classic rhythm and blues renditions, pop standards and spiritual sonnets have created the unique platform of versatility that Ms. Patti is known and revered for. Last year, she reunited with Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx for the first time in 30 years for the critically acclaimed Labelle reunion album, Back to Now. It’s a small wonder that Patti has time for anything else in between recording and touring, but she makes time and the world is oh-so-happy that she does! Patti has her own wig line, The Patti LaBelle Collection, and in November 2008, she released her fifth book and third cookbook, Recipes for The Good Life, and an instructional cooking DVD, In the Kitchen with Miss Patti. The cookbook features recipes and anecdotes that reflect Patti’s philosophy that good cooking and the love of entertaining come from the heart. More recently, Patti introduced a line of signature sauces and marinades called Lady Marmalade and launched a designer bedding collection with Macy’s, Patti LaBelle Home. In addition to her amazing career as an entertainer and entrepreneurial success, Ms. LaBelle’s work as a humanitarian is just as legendary. She remains an advocate for adoption, foster care, Big Sisters and the United Negro College Fund, among many other initiatives. While Ms. LaBelle’s celebrated career is respected world-wide, she has also endured and survived personal strife. Within a 10-year period, she lost her mother, three sisters and best friend to diabetes and cancer. In 1994, LaBelle was diagnosed with diabetes and shortly thereafter became a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association. The same motivation that had Patricia Louise Holte blossom from a choir member to lead vocalist for Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles and later Labelle, to a solo artist is the same energy that keeps her fire burning at sixty-six years young.“Each year I grow, and that’s a blessing from God. I do what I can do. I do what I feel God has given me the energy to do, so I just go out there and I do it…It’s not about making money because I don’t need money, but I need to sing. With a voice or without, I’ve got to get on that stage.” And the world is thankful that Ms. Patti’s voice sounds so good to our ears.
Saycon Sengbloh (Sandra Isadore) is thrilled to join FELA! and portray such an exciting woman! Fresh from the hit revival of Hair, her other Broadway credits include Aida, Wicked (“Elphaba” standby), The Color Purple (“Celie/Nettie” standby;). National Tours: Aida (“Aida”), Rent. Regional credits: Hair (Public Theatre), Dinah Was (Alliance Theatre), Soweto! Soweto! (Freddie Hendricks), I Know I’ve Been Changed (Tyler Perry). TV/Film: American Gangster, Across the Universe, Ditchdiggers’s Daughters, Funny Valentines, Law & Order, Prince of Motor City (pilot). Featured vocalist on soundtracks. Saycon’s album, Southern Pin-Up, is available on CD and for download at CDbaby.com and iTunes. www.myspace.com/saycon
Corey Baker (Ensemble) Co-founder of Noir Production and co-artistic director of Ballet Noir. He performed as a principal dancer with Philadanco, and has work with Ballet X, Complexions, Creative Outlet, and Forces of Nature. He also danced with Phildanco, Creative Outlet, Forces of Nature, Ballet X, Complexions, Harlem Opera, Inspirational Ensemble, Ujamma Theatre, FELA! (Off-Broadway), Kug Tut. Presented work: Montreal Fringe, Toronto Street Festival, Jacob's Pillow, Harlem Stage, Riverside Church, Burial Grounds. Songwriter: Stand Boogie Shout, This World of Mine. www.balletnoir.org
Hettie Vyrine Barnhill (Ensemble) is happy to be making her debut on Broadway! BA Columbia College Chicago. Companies: The Just Movement Collective, Balance Dance Theater and The Qrew. Choreography Credits: International Wow Theater, 60x60, Solar One, The Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, The Ailey School and Dance Chicago. Awards: Young Artist Scholarship (A.D.F) and The Wiesman Grant for choreographic piece “Homegrown.” Selected Regional Credits: Hairspray ("Lorraine"), Surrender-Off Broadway (Drama Desk 2009 Nominee), LaCage Aux Folles ("Bitelle", "Colette"), Guys & Dolls ("Mimi") and Aida. Other Credits: Second City (Chicago, IL), Black Label Movement (Minnesota, MN), Arroja (Lisbon, Portugal), The Kennedy Center (Washington DC) and Amici (Roma, Italy). HettieBarnhill.com 
Chanon Judson (Swing) graduated from University at Buffalo with a BFA in Dance. She's a former member of Urban Bush Women, and currently serves as director for UB2, Urban Bush Women's performing apprentice ensemble. Her credits include Craig Harris's God's Trombones, Victoria's Secret Live,L'Oreal Live and the Michael Jackson 20th Anniversary Concert. 
Lauren De Veaux (Ensemble) Broadway debut. Originally from Chattanooga, TN, a graduate of Alabama School of Fine Arts and Howard University School of Engineering. Credits: Mama Kadiatou Conte, Ronald K. Brown, Abdel R. Salaam, George Faison, Anna and Barry VanCura, Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. Eternal love to her husband, family and friends for support. www.ladeveaux.com
Nicole Chantal de Weever (Ensemble) St. Maarten N.A, graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Fairfax Ballet and Motiance. Performed at the Afro Pop Hall of Fame Awards, AUDELCO Awards, Black Film Festival, Dance Africa, West Side Story World Tour and FELA! Off-Broadway. Worked with such choreographers as Katherine Dunham, Bill T. Jones, Joey McKneely, George Faison, Rob Ashford, Maria Torres, Abdel Salaam and Jamel Gaines. Principal on commercials on the Oxygen channel, featured dancer on PBS special Dancing with Life: Katherine Dunham, American Library of Congress Documentary DVD on Katherine Dunham Technique and American Gangster. Performed with such companies as Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, Creative Outlet of Brooklyn, Prophecy Dance Works, Seventh Principles and Ballet Noir. Thanks to my family and friends. NMHRK Ashe. nicoledeweever.com
In addition to creating more than 100 works for his own company, Mr. Jones has received many commissions to create dances for modern and ballet companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Axis Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berkshire Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Diversions Dance Company, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’ The Flight Project. He has also received numerous commissions to create new works for his own company, including premieres for the American Dance Festival, the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and for St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. In 1995, Mr. Jones directed and performed in a collaborative work with Toni Morrison and Max Roach, Degga, commissioned by Lincoln Center’s Serious Fun Festival and with Jessye Norman, How! Do! We! Do! which premiered at New York’s City Center in 1999 as part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers New Visions series. The Breathing Show, Mr. Jones’s evening-long solo, toured for three years, and his second solo show, As I Was Saying…, toured for more than two. He has directed and choreographed for theatre and opera, most recently choreographing Off-Broadway for the New York Theatre Workshop’s production of The Seven for which he was awarded the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography and for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening, for which he received the Tony Award® for Outstanding Choreography.
Mr. Jones has received honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College, Yale University, as well as the SUNY Binghamton Distinguished Alumni Award.
Off-Broadway: New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons. Regional: Chicago Shakespeare, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf,Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, MarkTaper Forum. He has collaborated with Grace Jones (Hurricane Tour), the composer Philip Glass and with opera companies of Paris (Garnier), Tokyo, San Francisco,Seattle, Houston, Washington, Chicago and New York. He is the recipient of numerous awards including several Bessie-Dance and Performance Awards for his collaborations with Bill T. Jones.
Elasea Douglas
Elasea Douglas (Ensemble, Sandra U/S) Broadway debut. Recently appeared in her first one woman show A Role Once Played by Kuba. Featured actor in Hattie What I Need You to Know starring Vicklyn Reynolds. Danced for choreographers Daryl Robinson and Lacey Phillips. Performed in Tobago, WI, and Mexico. She is currently working on her first music project. Special thanks to her Savior Jesus Christ.Rujeko Dumbutshena
Rujeko Dumbutshena (Ensemble) is a native of Zimbabwe. Rujeko left in 1992. She has taught dance at prestigious institutions throughout the U.S. and is currently on the faculty at Sarah Lawence College. Rujeko directed conferences, artist in residence programs and cultural tours through Southern Africa. She thanks her ancestors, family, teachers and friends for their unconditional love and support.Catherine Foster
Catherine Foster (Ensemble) Awards: second place winner of the NFAA. Choreographers and companies: DCYE, Deeply Rooted Productions, Hinton Battle, Darrell Moultrie, Camille Brown, Fred Benjamin Dance Company and Forces of Nature (director Abdel Salaam). Catherine thanks her ancestors and loved ones for her success and guidance!Rasaan-Elijah “Talu” Green
Rasaan-Elijah “Talu” Green (Djembe Drummer, Ensemble) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At a young age, he exhibited his passion for African percussion music after visiting several African countries. His musical training gained him acceptance in Long Island University's Music Department at age 14. Talu has performed in the Afropop Worldwide Gala, Russell Simmons's Diamond Empowerment Fund Benefit, Dance Africa and FELA! Off-Broadway.Shaneeka Harrell
Shaneeka Harrell (Ensemble) performed as a dancer and singer with the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company and Jawole Willa Zollar’s Urban Bush Women. Harrell was Assistant Choreographer to Bill T. Jones for New York Theater Workshop’s The Seven. She was born and raised in the heart of Miami, Florida.Chanon Judson
Chanon Judson (Swing) graduated from University at Buffalo with a BFA in Dance. She’s a former member of Urban Bush Women, and currently serves as director for UB2, Urban Bush Women’s performing apprentice ensemble. Her credits include Craig Harris’s God’s Trombones, Victoria’s Secret Live, L’Oreal Live and the Michael Jackson 20th Anniversary Concert.Abena Koomson
Abena Koomson (Vocal Captain, Ensemble, Funmilayo U/S) is a Brooklyn based writer, educator and performer. Her one woman show Cozi Sa Wala (NY IT nominee for best solo performance); "Funmilayo" in FELA! (original Off-Broadway cast); Celebrate Brooklyn 2009 Africa Festival; Urban Voices Inspirational Festival (South Africa). Abena is pleased to make her Broadway debut with FELA!Ismael Kouyaté
Ismael Kouyaté (African Chanter, Geraldo Piño, Orisa, Tortured Fela, Ensemble) hails from a family of renowned artists and praise singers in Guinea, West Africa. He performed with Guinea's national companies Les Percussions de Guinea and Les Ballets Africains. In New York, he sings with Mandingo Ambassadors, teaches dance and is honored to make his Broadway debut with FELA!Gelan Lambert
Gelan Lambert (J.K. Tap Dance, Egungun, Ensemble) Originally from Miami, FL, of Haitian descent. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School with a B.F.A. in dance. Began his formative training at Dancexchange Inc. and New World School of the Arts. He also trained at The Ailey School, Broadway Theater Project, The Joffrey Ballet School and School of American Ballet. His professional credits include The Martha Graham Dance Company, Sean Curran Company, Fosse (1st National Tour), A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden Theater), Encores Golden Boy, NYC Opera's Alcina/Turandot, and a featured performer for Jacob's Pillow Katherine Dunham Tribute conceived and directed by Reginald Yates. He has presented solo concerts at Jacob's Pillow, Stella Adler Studio (Resident Artist), Florida International Univ. and George Faison Firehouse Theater. His awards and honors are: Martha Hill Prize from The Juilliard School, National Foundation for Advancement of Arts-1st Place, Presidential Scholar for the Arts, National Society of Arts and Letters–1st Place and Jerome Foundation Fellow. A principal artist and assistant to Reginald Yates. He has danced the works of Alvin Ailey, Hinton Battle, Margie Gillis, Jiri Kylian, Jose Limon, Donald McKayle, Mia Michaels, Reginald Yates and others. Ayo!Farai Malianga
Farai Malianga (Swing) born and raised in Zimbabwe, began his career in African Dance in Colorado with Leticia William’s Harambee Dancers and Drummers and with Musical Director Judy “Fatu” Henderson. In New York he immersed himself in the drum and dance world, studying with creative pioneers Yousouf Koumbasa, Mbemba Bangoura and Ronald K. Brown. He has performed with the masters: Chuck Davis in BAM’s Dance Africa, Reginald Yates (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre), Heritage O.P.; with the companies Harambee, Umoja, The New Jersey Chamber Orchestra, Obediah Wright’s Balance, BSRC, Def Dance Jam and Opus; with the musicians Roy Ayers, Wunmi Olaiya, Manchild Black, and as producer for Melanie Charles, Scott Patterson, Saycon Sengbloh and Nakia Henry. Composition credits include commissioned works for Camille Brown, Karen Love’s Umoja, and Christal Brown’s Inspirit Dance Companies.Shakira Marshall
Shakira Marshall (Ensemble) Queens native Shakira received her dance training from E.S.O.T.A (The Edge School of Arts) under the tutelage of Kerri D. Edge, Roger C. Jeffery, Obediah Wright, Cheryl Godineaux, Darell Grand Moultrie, Brandon Ellis and Kevin ‘Iega’ Jeff. Credits: Sophisticated Ladies (Irving St. Rep.), Scandalous People—NY Fringe Festival (MyChurch Prod.), Willy Wonka (Brooklyn College), Michael Peters Tribute (Debbie Allen Dance Academy). A Purchase College graduate, she is honored to be making her Broadway debut with such a riveting show as FELA! Shakira would like to thank the Creator, her parents and her wonderful family for their continued support and guidance.Afi McClendon
Afi McClendon (Ensemble) happily returns to Broadway, where she first was "Little TiMoune" in the Tony-nominated Once On This Island. Off-Broadway: “Nikki” Holiday Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club); “Niki” Taking Control (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: “Nikki” Holiday Heart (Arena Stage), received a Helen Hayes nomination, Best Actress; “Ernestine” Crumbs from the Table of Joy and “Comet” Breath Boom!(Yale Rep). Received an Audelco Award Legacy. Film: “Hilary” Fresh; “Devina” A Spoonful of Sugar. Television: Ghostwriters; Here and Now; Sesame St. Dance: David Dorfman; Nicholas Leichter; Forces of Nature (Abdel Salaam). My true family, Luvu and to the creator, thank you for seeing me through.Adesola Osakalumi
Adesola Osakalumi ( Ensemble, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti U/S) joyfully thanks the Creator, the Ancestors and his family. Broadway: Equus, Off Broadway: Sundance Theatre Lab’s Ngwino Ubeho, Eyewitness Blues (NYTW), Jam On The Groove (Drama Desk Nominee). Films include: The Accidental Husband (Didier), Across The Universe, Enchanted, Idlewild, The Great Observer. Choreography: Broadway Bares, the Films School of Rock & Marci X, Commercials include PBS Kids, Old Navy, Halifax Bank, Advil, ESPN as well as commercial voice-over work. A special acknowledgment to the Africa I Dance Theatre/Egbe Omo Nago under the direction of R. Francis. www.adesola.comJeffrey Page
Jeffrey Page (Ensemble) is an Emmy Award nominated director/choreographer and holds a BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts. As an actor/singer/dancer heÂ’s been apart of Eyes, directed by Woodie King, Jr.; Jazz Actors, directed by Ernie McClentock; Black Nativity (Freedom Theater), directed by Walter Dallas; Soul Possessed (Kennedy Center & Atlanta Alliance Theater), directed by Debbie Allen; Brown Butterfly, directed and choreographed by Marlies Yearby; and Shakespeare TheaterÂ’s Oedipus Rex, directed by Michael Kahn. As a dancer Jeffrey has worked with George Faison, Otis Sallid, Rennie Harris Pure Movement, Forces of Nature, Ron K. Brown, and has toured internationally with acclaimed artist Beyonce. Jeffrey was recently accepted as an MFA student at NYU/Tisch.Oneika Phillips
Oneika Phillips (Ensemble, Sandra U/S, Funmilayo U/S) From Grenada, West Indies, Oneika holds dual degrees in Dance Performance and Business Management from Shenandoah University, Virginia. Formerly a featured member of Abdel Salaama’s Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, Oneika's theatre credits include the workshop, FELA! A New Musical, “Anita” in the 50th Anniversary International Tour of Jerome Robbins’s West Side Story, directed by Joey McKneely and nominated for The West End's Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, winning the Theatergoer’s Choice Award in the same category. Oneika is thrilled to return home to the shrine with the FELA! family for her Broadway debut.Ryan H. Rankine
Ryan H. Rankine (Ensemble) has performed with Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, Complexion Contemporary Ballet, Forces of Nature. Credits include: The Wiz (City Center NY), So You Think You Can Dance Season 2 (top 7th finalist) and Int’l Tour, Panasonic, Radio City Christmas Spectacular '08, VH1 Divas 2009. Ryan thanks Mom & God for his Blessings.Justin Prescott
Justin Prescott (Ensemble) was born in Houston,TX where he began his dance training at Masters, The Upper Level. From there he continued his formal dance training at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts where he received the NFAA Silver Award in 2006. Currently Mr. Prescott attends Purchase College (SUNY) Conservatory of Dance where he will receive his BFA in May 2010. Justin continuously thanks the Creator for the gift of dance, and the continuous support of his family and friends.Daniel Soto
Daniel Soto (Ensemble, Assistant Dance Captain), born in Brooklyn NY and from a large family, has blossomed to become a respected artist and communal developer. At the age of sixteen, Soto was introduced to the professional world of dance, becoming a company member of Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn and later attending SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Soto toured internationally and nationally with various dance companies. He feels honored to share the language of art with others and feels blessed with the guidance of great artistic pioneers (Shirley Black Brown Coward, Jamel Gaines, Lakai Worreal, George Fasion) that have molded his career today. Mostly giving thanks to the creator, Soto feels extremely honored to be part of FELA!JILL VALLERY
JILL VALLERY (Swing, Dance Captain) is exceedingly beholden to all those who have contributed to her journey. Trained at the Alvin Ailey School, became a national teaching artist for Ailey Arts in Education & Community. Off-Broadway: FELA! Film: Lifted. Dance: Balance Dance Company, Opus Dance Theatre, Prophecy Dance, ADTC. She is grateful to Bill T. Jones, all artists and creators of FELA! and her family. jillmvallery.comIris Wilson
Iris Wilson (Ensemble): dance educator at P.S./I.S. 268Q, co-founder of ItÂ’s Dance, dance school, author of children’s book Boys Dance Too. (www.authorhouse.com). Iris performed nationally and internationally with various dance companies: Opus Dance Theater, Bosou African Dance Company, Dinizulu African Dancers and Drummers, Speak, Haiti Dansco and KaNu. Short Film credits: Earl’s Post Prison Playdate (OGB Productions), Love Train and Coco’s Way (Oreh Productions). A part of the third FELA! workshop and the Off-Broadway run, Iris is happy to return to the cast as it makes its journey to Broadway. This is her Broadway debut. Iris thanks her family and friends for all their love and support. All praises to God. Ase.J.L. Williams
J.L. Williams (Swing: J.K. Tap Dance u/s) hails from Los Angeles, CA and is extremely grateful and humbled to go from being a Broadway bartender front of house, to making his Broadway debut in FELA!. National/ International Tours: Magic of the Dance (The Entertainer), 42nd Street (Andy Lee). Regional: Sophisticated Ladies (The Danseur), Five Guys Named Moe (NoMoe), Grease (Danny Zuko). Workshop: Bring in da Noise/Funk Funk U. Television: The Gregory Hines Show and Strong Medicine. Awards: Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award, Los Angeles NAACP ACT-So Award. Thanks to the Universe, Ancestors, The Dance Connection Dance Academy, TRC, NCDA, CSUDH, Harbor Conservatory, Dawn McMahan School of Dance, Dance Magic and Jazz Tap Ensemble. It’s possible!Aimee Graham Wodobode
Aimee Graham Wodobode (Ensemble) Enthusiastic Broadway Debut! Aimee was part of the original cast of FELA! Off-Broadway. She received her dance training from choreographers Laura Scozzi, Stefanie Session and Christian Bourigault while attending University of Paris XII. When she moved to New York in 2001 Aimee started to study African dance with Abdel Salaam. She has been touring the country with Forces Of Nature Dance Theater for the last four years. In France Aimee has toured nationally with Steffie Session for Reebok and with Opinioni in Movimiento Dance Theater on such renowned stages as L'Opera de Paris Garnier, Le Ballet du Nord, the Theatre of Bakou, Le Theatre de Suresnes Jean Vilar and Le Theatre de Paris. Aimee thanks her Ancestors for guiding her way from Bangui to Broadway. www.aimeegrahamdance.comLinda Marvel
Linda Marvel (Production Supervisor) Broadway: PSM for The Little Dog Laughed and 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda. Both Tony®-nominated for Best Play. Off-Broadway: premieres of Sam Shepard’s The God of Hell, Michael Weller’s Beast, Julia Cho’s BFE, Howard Brenton’s Sore Throats and Adrienne Kennedy’s The Ohio State Murders, as well as productions at Second Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, Center Stage, Olney Theatre Center and Westport. Ms. Marvel is currently the Production Supervisor for Seven, a documentary theatre piece about human rights, with performances in London, France, Los Angeles, Aspen and Washington D.C. Member, Actor’s Equity Association.Hilary Austin
Hilary Austin (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to return for her fourth installment of the FELA! process. Other credits include: Off-Broadway: FELA!, My Life As A Fairy Tale, Miss Julie, Blueprint. Regional: Raven Odyssey (Perseverance Theater, Juneau AK). New York: DR.C, Death of a Salesman, Three Sisters, The Apostle Project, Canticle, Blind Mouth Singing, Hair, Rocket to the Moon, Working, All Good Things, The Winter's Tale, Hip Hop Theater Festival. Resident Stage Manager of Theater Mitu.Kathy Fabian/Propstar
Kathy Fabian/Propstar (Properties Coordinator) Broadway credits include: Bye Bye Birdie, A Steady Rain, Waiting for Godot, You’re Welcome America, Pal Joey, American Buffalo, Speed the Plow, A Man For All Seasons, Les Liasons Dangereuses, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, The Homecoming, Cyrano de Bergerac, Pygmalion, Old Acquaintance, 110 in the Shade, Talk Radio, Prelude to a Kiss, Spring Awakening, High Fidelity, Barefoot in the Park, Souvenir, Steel Magnolias, Sweet Charity, Match, Fiddler on the Roof, Bobby Boland, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Golda’s Balcony. Fabian has created props Off-Broadway with Atlantic Theatre Co., The Vineyard Theatre Co., Manhattan Class Company, Manhattan Ensemble Theatre and The Big Apple Circus.Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones (Director & Choreographer) is a 2007 and 2010 Tony Award® winner and the recipient of the 2007 Obie Award and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation CALLAWAY Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening, the recipient of the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship, the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven, the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, the prestigious 2005 Wexner Prize, and the Aaron Davis Hall Harlem Renaissance Award. He is also a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient in 1994, named one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000, and was awarded The 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for which recipients are considered trailblazers who have redefined their art and reshaped the cultural landscape. He began his dance training at the State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY), where he studied classical ballet and modern dance. After living in Amsterdam, Mr. Jones returned to SUNY, where he became co-founder of the American Dance Asylum in 1973. Before forming Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982, Mr. Jones choreographed and performed nationally and internationally as a soloist and duet company with his late partner, Arnie Zane.In addition to creating more than 100 works for his own company, Mr. Jones has received many commissions to create dances for modern and ballet companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Axis Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berkshire Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Diversions Dance Company, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’ The Flight Project. He has also received numerous commissions to create new works for his own company, including premieres for the American Dance Festival, the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and for St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. In 1995, Mr. Jones directed and performed in a collaborative work with Toni Morrison and Max Roach, Degga, commissioned by Lincoln Center’s Serious Fun Festival and with Jessye Norman, How! Do! We! Do! which premiered at New York’s City Center in 1999 as part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers New Visions series. The Breathing Show, Mr. Jones’s evening-long solo, toured for three years, and his second solo show, As I Was Saying…, toured for more than two. He has directed and choreographed for theatre and opera, most recently choreographing Off-Broadway for the New York Theatre Workshop’s production of The Seven for which he was awarded the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography and for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening, for which he received the Tony Award® for Outstanding Choreography.
Mr. Jones has received honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College, Yale University, as well as the SUNY Binghamton Distinguished Alumni Award.
Jim Lewis
Jim Lewis (Conceiver/Book Writer/Additional Lyrics) In 2008, Jim received a Lucille Lortell Award for “Outstanding Musical” for FELA! and two Drama Desk nominations for “Best Book” for both FELA! and This Beautiful City (w/ The Civilians). Selected works. B’WAY: Chronicle of a Death Foretold (TONY, Drama Desk nominations), and Dangerous Games (both w/ Graciela Daniele). OFF B’WAY/REGIONAL: Tango Apaisionado, Ionesco’s The Chairs, Ibsen’s Lady from the Sea. OPERA/DANCE: Paul Dresher’s The Tyrant, Ballet Hispanico’s Nightclub; Philip Glass's Les Enfants Terribles, PastFORWARD (w/ Mikhail Baryshnikov). DRAMATURG: House Arrest (Anna Deavere Smith), Drawn to Death (Art Spiegelman),; Cymbeline and Waste (w/ Bartlett Sher), Lincoln Center's WOZA AFRIKA Festival. Previously w/ Bill T. Jones: Dream On Monkey Mountain, Chapel/Chapter and Still/Here (20th Anniversary Season).Antibalas
Antibalas (Arrangements/Musicians) Credited with introducing Afrobeat to a new generation, this Brooklyn-based collective has released four critically-acclaimed albums since forming in 1998, and can been heard on numerous Afrobeat compilations. Antibalas has performed more than 700 concerts around the world including appearances at the Coachella, Newport and the Montreux Festivals.Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson (Musical Director) Born in Iowa City and raised on Long Island, Aaron Johnson began studying music at the Mannes Prep program in New York, and continued at The New School, where he now teaches. He has become an in-demand trombonist, arranger, and composer in the New York music scene, and has recorded and performed with such artists as Paul Simon, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, TV on the Radio, The Roots, Wu-Tang-Clan, Angelique Kidjo and Femi Kuti. He joined Antibalas in 2000, and began conducting the band in 2001. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and sons.Jordan McLean
Jordan McLean (Assistant Musical Director) has been active as a composer, band leader, trumpeter and music educator for over 15 years. He has brought his unique performance style to stages and recording studios throughout the US and twenty countries, having collaborated with a multitude of musicians, ensembles and arts organizations. As a charter member of Antibalas he has performed in hundreds of clubs and dozens of the world's major music festivals. He currently leads his “play anywhere chamber ensemble” Piano Music & Song Trio, and is a founding partner of Sound Chemistry Records. Jordan graduated summa cum laude in composition from SUNY Purchase.Niegel Smith
Niegel Smith (Associate Director) is the Artistic Leadership Associate at The Public Theater and a founding member of 425D, a directorÂ’s lab. As PERMISO with Co-Artistic Director Todd Shalom, Niegel has co-conceived and staged so you’re one of them now?, this was the only place i knew to go, December 31, Procession and Fallout, mass rituals in public settings. New York directing credits include We Declare You a Terrorist, Rainy Days & Mondays, Maude The Madness, One For The Road and LIMBS: A Pageant. Niegel has received grants and fellowships from Theater Communications Group, the Van Lier Fund, the Tucker Foundation and Dartmouth College. He grew up in the North Carolina Piedmont, fishing with his dad, shopping with his mom and inventing tall-tale fantasies with his two younger brothers.Maija Garcia
Maija Garcia (Associate Choreographer) Harlem-based movement artist Maija Garcia is director of Organic Magnetics, a sustainable theater collaborative bridging art forms and borders; creating urban folklore for the future. Garcia’s work has been staged in all of the places she calls home: New York City, La Habana Cuba, Ann Arbor, MI and San Francisco CA—where she earned a degree in sustainable development from the California Institute of Integral Studies. In 2009 Garcia directed Volcano’s Birthrights at 45th St. Theater and the collective experiment, YaYa Dreams a Future at the Coney Island Performance Festival. Touring internationally with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company since 2005, Maija is blessed to be working with the creative team, phenomenal cast and crew of FELA! An offering of gratitude to the ancestors and family (born and chosen) for your spiritual inspiration… Ase-O!Marina Draghici
Marina Draghici (Scenic/Costume Design) Marina was born in Bucharest, Romania. She emigrated to the United States where she graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 1988. Prior to FELA! Marina has collaborated with Bill T. Jones on Dream on a Monkey Mountain (Guthrie Theatre) and 24 Images Secondes (Lyons Opera). Her work has been seen at the Paris National Opera, Zurich Opera, Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, Opera de Nice, NYCO, Edinburgh Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, National Theatre of Prague, Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and Lincoln Center among many other venues in the US and abroad. Awards: Lucille Lortel, Obie and numerous nominations. Film/TV: The Grey Zone, Heights, Dexter, Twelve and Holding, S.O.P., Rage, The Cake Eaters, Precious: based on Sapphire's novel Push.Robert Wierzel
Robert Wierzel (Lighting Design) has collaborated with Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company for more than 23 years including work at the Lyon Opera Ballet; Berlin Opera Ballet and The Louvre Museum (Walking the Line). Broadway: David Copperfield’s Dreams and Nightmares.Off-Broadway: New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons. Regional: Chicago Shakespeare, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf,Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, MarkTaper Forum. He has collaborated with Grace Jones (Hurricane Tour), the composer Philip Glass and with opera companies of Paris (Garnier), Tokyo, San Francisco,Seattle, Houston, Washington, Chicago and New York. He is the recipient of numerous awards including several Bessie-Dance and Performance Awards for his collaborations with Bill T. Jones.
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