Broadway Musical ‘FELA!’ Ignites America

Will Dbanj Land Role To Play Fela?

Contrary to speculations that the Kokomaster, Dbanj would play the role of Fela in the Broadway show, NET’s investigation showed that Dbanj was actually auditioned for the role but he was not cast due to unconfirmed reasons.
According to Yeni Kuti who spoke to NET on the phone, Dbanj was part of the audition exercise in New York. ‘He auditioned for it few weeks ago but as far as I know he has not been cast yet. I spoke to them yesterday’, Yeni noted.
An inside source in Dbanj’s camp also confirmed to us that the Mo’hit artiste underwent the Broadway Musical audition for Fela’s role. ‘He went for the audition. It was even my friend that picked him from the JFK airport to the venue of the audition. When he finished, he called me and said baba it’s a big show o, they liked me...’ The source explained further that if Dbanj gets the role his fear is that it would affect all his shows and other engagements for the year as the Broadway musical will tour the world for months.
However, a representative at the Broadway - The Eugene O’Neill Theatre affirmed to NET in a phone chat that the Sierra Leonean-American, Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo- a Zimbabwean-Canadian are still the two major casts alternating the role of Fela in the Broadway show.
In separate quiz on Dbanj’s role as Fela, with a Chicago based American woman by the name Raychelle Levy, who claimed to have been monitoring updates on FELA! since it became a Broadway hit. She opined that she never came across any name as Dapo Oyebanjo (Dbanj) to play Fela’s role.
‘Dang! America is not patient with news, if there was such development it would have been all over the TV and Newspapers here, coz most of them have been talking about Fela and Nigeria since it got 11 Tony nods. The producers will never replace a lead cast that has won them many awards and recognition of this magnitude except the actor dies or pulls out willingly’