Sahr Ngaujah has inhabited the spirit of Fela Kuti for nearly five years now in a role he helped create. Yet, every time he steps on stage, he still seeks new ways to embody the controversial Afrobeat pioneer.
“He was a real headline-grabber,” Ngaujah said. “It was a lot of meticulous work digging into who is this fella? How does he work? How does he talk? How does he use his fingers, his eyes? How does he sing? How does he direct the band? These are the things that I love to play and every day I find new things about him.”
Ngaujah’s portrayal of Kuti in “Fela!” the musical earned him a Tony nomination during the show’s 14-month Broadway run (which ended in January). In September, he began a 10-month U.S. tour of the production, which swings through the Atlanta Civic Center this week.
Although the sinewy Ngaujah considers many places home – he currently lives in Brooklyn when not traveling and spent nearly 10 years prior to his New York employment in Holland – he acknowledges that Atlanta is special.
Ngaujah’s career originated with the acclaimed Freddie Hendricks, whose theater class at Tri-Cities High School in East Point is legendary for exporting performers such as Andre 3000 and Big Boi from OutKast and Kenan Thompson from “Saturday Night Live,” among others.
Hendricks was immediately impressed with the teenage Ngaujah, who soon was working with the Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble as a performer and, eventually director.
That background ignited Ngaujah’s career, which has included work in Berlin and Rotterdam.
But it’s been three years since Ngaujah, who is of Sierra Leonean descent, last landed in Atlanta. His father and sisters still live here – and saw him perform in New York -- and while “Fela!” will keep him occupied at night, he hopes to find time for one of his favorite Atlanta activities: An evening drive with the windows down.
“I miss feeling the breeze. We’re talking about the trees and the train tracks and the sirens at night. The sound of the cicadas. But it’s more about the people. Atlanta is very dear to me,” Ngaujah said.
Any longtime Ngaujah followers planning to attend “Fela!” shouldn’t be too surprised to see an extremely ripped specimen bounding around the stage.
Playing the charismatic Kuti meant embodying his snake-like dance moves, playing instruments and engaging in a nonstop blitz of agile maneuvering. On show days, Ngaujah will run a mile or two, then hit the weights. During hiatuses, he visits the gym three or four times a week for “maintenance.”
Given the physical rigors of the show, it would be understandable if Ngaujah was starting to cast an eye toward other opportunities. But considering how entwined he is with the character in a show he helped develop, he isn’t clamoring to move on yet.
When that inevitability arrives, though, Ngaujah’s greatest hope is that “Fela!” will continue to breathe without him.
“I hope that the show has a long life after I’m not jumping onstage to do it,” he said. “Now it’s really about sharing the piece with other people, and I won’t be around forever to do that.”
Theater preview
“Fela!”
Oct. 11-16 (except Oct. 12). Times vary. $28-$38. Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
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