(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
"Fela!" star Sahr Ngaujah *will* headline Broadway special engagement of show
The Tony nominee is done with the tour of the musical about the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anilkulapo-Kuti
By Ro Preston
June 20, 2012 at 5:11PM
Sahr Ngaujah, singing. Photo by Raymond Hagans.
Sahr Ngaujah *will* star in "Fela!" on Broadway after all, according to show publicist Billy Zavelson of Richard Kornberg & Associates.
"As far as I know, he's definitely doing Broadway," he said.
Ngaujah's status with the show was called into question Sunday night during an emotional curtain call of the closing night performance of the national tour at St. Paul's Ordway Center. The Tony-nominated singer, actor, dancer and multi-instrumentalist said goodbye his to fellow company members and announced that this was the end of his association with the show.
"He probably meant the tour," said Zavelson. "And he may rejoin that later."
Praised for his stage prowess, Ngaujah originated the role fo the Afrobeat pioneer and Nigerian gadfly Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the musical co-conceived, choreographed and directed by Bill T. Jones. The musical opened in Nov. 2009 and ran for 14 months, backed by a producing consortium that included entertainers Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.
"Fela!" returns to Broadway for a limited, 32-performance engagement July 9-Aug. 4.
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Ro Preston
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