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Fela! on Broadway: Hip-Hop & Hollywood A-Listers to Add Boost

Author: SEM Contributor

Following in the same vein as Russell Simmons’ Tony Award-winning turn with ‘Def Jam on Broadway’ and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ big splash in Kenny Leon’s revival of ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ ShaFelawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are taking on the Great White Way.

Contract talks have been going on for weeks between the hip-hop and Hollywood A-listers and the ‘Fela!’ creative team, and today, Richard Kornberg, Billy Zavelson and Tommy Wesley officially announced that the trio has joined the production team of the musical, which chronicles the life of African musician and political activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The glitzy partnership will hopefully bring in the same star power that Oprah Winfrey’s name did for ‘The Color Purple’ in 2005.

Late last year, The Roots drummer Ahmir ‘?uestlove’ Thompson appealed to 200 of his entertainment industry colleagues via e-mail blast to attend the sold-out limited run of the off-Broadway musical

“It’s uncut. It’s true to the vision. It’s amazing! There is no option. I expect death to be the only reason why you did not see this production,” he wrote in his letter.

He closed the plea with: “Get off your ass and see this now.”

Now that the show is headed to Broadway, it has been given an $11 million makeover and is set to open at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Nov. 23.

Beloved Tony Award winner Lillias White joined the cast as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the late Afrobeat legend’s mother.

And when Sahr Ngaujah — who mastered the complex lead role when the show debuted off-Broadway, last year — isn’t working his magic on the masses, Kevin Mambo (right), a two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner takes over the role.

Thompson, whose reach has only expanded since The Roots became the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late-night television show, continued to make an impassioned plea for more of his celebrity friends to invest in and support the show, and it seems his calls have been answered.

The addition of Jay-Z and the Smiths could boost ticket sales, which have been reportedly low thus far.

“My job is to be the mouthpiece that can at least catch the ear of a power player for Hollywood and the industry,” Thompson, who is also a producer on ‘Fela!,’ said.

Getting Carter, with whom he has collaborated with, to give ‘Fela!’ a chance wasn’t too difficult a task, thanks to the interests of the Brooklyn MC’s superstar wife.

“This play really hit Beyonce in the gut, which in turn really hit [Jay-Z] in the gut, and he was excited about it.”

Alicia Keys was also confirmed to have seen ‘Fela!’ at Thompson’s urging.

Similarly, hip-hop star K’naan, who says “Broadway will never be the same now,” after having an early look at the show encouraged Mos Def — who starred in the critically acclaimed play ‘Topdog/Underdog’ — and Nas to check it out.

The show’s lead producer, Stephen Hendel, said that “these prominent celebrities are also approaching us because they want to be involved in bringing something important and new to the culture.”

As previously reported, Tony Award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones serves as the show’s creative force.

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Fela! on Broadway: Hip-Hop & Hollywood A-Listers to Add Boost

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