by Scheduled to shut its doors in January 2011, the Jay-Z, Will & Jada Pinket Smith Broadway Musical FELA is trying to go out on top. Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Patti LaBelle will join the cast of the hit Award-winning Broadway musical on Tuesday, September 14, taking over the role of Fela’s mother (Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti). “I am both thrilled and honored to be joining the cast of FELA! on Broadway, says Miss LaBelle in a statement. âAfter seeing the show, I was struck by the choreography and work of Bill T. Jones, and the passion and joy that overflows from the stage. Fela’s mother, Funmilayo, was a strong, truly inspiring woman and I am so privileged to be able to pay tribute to her on the Broadway stage.” The musical is set in the nightclub where FELA (played alternately by Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo) regularly performed his pioneering Afrobeat music.
