Photo Flash: First Look at Michelle Williams in FELA! National Tour

By: Mar. 12, 2013
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Grammy Award-winning recording artist and former member of Destiny's Child Michelle Williams stars in the national tour of the award-winning Broadway musical Fela! Check out production shots of Williams and the cast in action below!

Heralded on three continents, Fela!, a provocative hybrid of dance, theatre and music exploring the extravagant world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, will star Broadway vet Adesola Osakalumi in the title role, Melanie Marshall, who won raves both at London's National Theatre and on Broadway, plays Kuti's pioneering mother and Michelle Williams in the role of Sandra Isadore, activist and love interest to Kuti. Duain Richmond will play the title role at certain performances.

Also featured will be Miami native Gelan Lambert in the role of JK (rhythm tapper) Ogungun, described by The New York Times' Ben Brantley as "the brilliant tap dance artist suigeneris." Of Haitan descent and a YoungArts Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Lambert is a graduate of the Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance, trained at the Ailey School, Broadway Theater Project, The Joffrey School of America Ballet, and appeared with the Martha Graham Dance Company. He was in the first national tour of Fosse, has danced in concerts at Jacob's Pillow, was a resident artist at the Stella Adler Studio, and has performed the works of Alvin Ailey, Hinton Battle, Jose Limon, Donald McKayle and Reginald Yates.

A triumphant and inspirational tale of courage, passion and love, Fela! is the true story of Kuti, who created a type of music, Afrobeat, and mixed these pounding eclectic rhythms (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies) with rousing lyrics that openly attacked the corrupt and oppressive military dictatorships that ruled Nigeria and much of Africa.

Visit www.felaonbroadway.com for more information.

Photo Credit: Sharon Bradford/Carol Rosegg.


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