It took almost 15 years, but Sahr Ngaujah and Saycon Sengbloh are together again on stage — albeit a much larger stage.When the Broadway musical "Fela!" opens today, high school best friends Ngaujah and Sengbloh will reunite as Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and his lover/confidant Sandra Isidore."It's the first time that Broadway has ever really dealt with Afrobeat, and it's the first time that Sahr and I have worked together in a long time," says Sengbloh, 32. "That's special."
The show, conceived, choreographed and directed by Bill T. Jones, and backed by the likes of Jay-Z,Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, tells the story of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who endured brutality at the hands of the Nigerian government for his music's political leanings.While life wasn't quite as rough for Ngaujah (pronounced n-GOW-ja) and Sengbloh growing up together in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, it certainly was no picnic, either. They both attendedTri-cities High School, a public performing arts school that has produced famous performers such as "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson and OutKast members Andre 3000 and Big Boi.
"I remember meeting Sahr on the school bus when I was in ninth grade," says Sengbloh. "He was handing out religious pamphlets and acting very serious. I thought he was cool, but it was only later that I found out he was in the theater program."Life for a Tri-Cities student in the early '90s was tough. Despite being a performing arts high school, Tri-Cities remained "one of the roughest, meanest schools in the whole city," according to Ngaujah, 33. "They combined three schools to make Tri-Cities and everybody had something to prove." To escape the fighting, both immersed themselves in the school's dance, art, theater and music programs under the direction of drama department head Freddie Hendricks.
"We performed together a lot in those days," remembers Ngaujah. "Freddie Hendricks also ran a theater company outside of school, and we became leading players in this troupe. So we would be at school all day, then we'd do our magnet studies in the evening, and after that, we would go to some local, dusty gym for rehearsals.""We spent all our days and evening together," adds Sengbloh. "We might as well have lived together."
Today, Hendricks recalls Ngaujah as "the most focused young man I have ever seen"; Sengbloh, he says, "always had a beautiful voice". "I get the chills everytime I talk about it," Hendricks says. "I'm coming to the opening night. I'm going to be Saycon's date on the carpet. That goes to show you how close we are and what kind of bond we have.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/11/22/2009-11-22_fela_and_fate_reunite_shows_stars_stars_who_were_friends_as_teens.html#ixzz0XgSCZwW2
The show, conceived, choreographed and directed by Bill T. Jones, and backed by the likes of Jay-Z,Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, tells the story of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who endured brutality at the hands of the Nigerian government for his music's political leanings.While life wasn't quite as rough for Ngaujah (pronounced n-GOW-ja) and Sengbloh growing up together in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, it certainly was no picnic, either. They both attendedTri-cities High School, a public performing arts school that has produced famous performers such as "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson and OutKast members Andre 3000 and Big Boi.
"I remember meeting Sahr on the school bus when I was in ninth grade," says Sengbloh. "He was handing out religious pamphlets and acting very serious. I thought he was cool, but it was only later that I found out he was in the theater program."Life for a Tri-Cities student in the early '90s was tough. Despite being a performing arts high school, Tri-Cities remained "one of the roughest, meanest schools in the whole city," according to Ngaujah, 33. "They combined three schools to make Tri-Cities and everybody had something to prove." To escape the fighting, both immersed themselves in the school's dance, art, theater and music programs under the direction of drama department head Freddie Hendricks.
"We performed together a lot in those days," remembers Ngaujah. "Freddie Hendricks also ran a theater company outside of school, and we became leading players in this troupe. So we would be at school all day, then we'd do our magnet studies in the evening, and after that, we would go to some local, dusty gym for rehearsals.""We spent all our days and evening together," adds Sengbloh. "We might as well have lived together."
Today, Hendricks recalls Ngaujah as "the most focused young man I have ever seen"; Sengbloh, he says, "always had a beautiful voice". "I get the chills everytime I talk about it," Hendricks says. "I'm coming to the opening night. I'm going to be Saycon's date on the carpet. That goes to show you how close we are and what kind of bond we have.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/11/22/2009-11-22_fela_and_fate_reunite_shows_stars_stars_who_were_friends_as_teens.html#ixzz0XgSCZwW2
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