Kevin Mambo | |
---|---|
Born | Harare, Zimbabwe | June 29, 1972
Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
Years active | 1992–present |
Known for | Playing Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the Broadway musical Fela! |
Awards | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1997) |
Kevin Mambo (born June 29, 1972) is a Zimbabwean-Canadian actor and musician.
He is best known for his role on the CBS Daytime serial Guiding Light in the role of Marcus Williams, which won him two Daytime Emmys and for his role as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the Broadway production of the musical Fela!
Kevin Mambo was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An avid musician, he was in the church choir as a child and started playing piano at age 8, saxophone at age 10, and the guitar at age 19. [1] He attended Aden Bowman Collegiate in Saskatoon and then Brentwood College School in Mill Bay, British Columbia. He studied Political Science and African History at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec where he also took classes at the McGill Jazz Conservatory. Kevin then transferred to the University of Southern California where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. [2]
In 2015, Mambo appeared in the Billie Holiday Theatre production of Jackie Alexander's Brothers from the Bottom opposite Wendell Pierce. In 2014, Mambo starred as Barret Rude Jr. in the musical The Fortress of Solitude which premiered at the Dallas Theater Center [3] and at The Public Theater in New York. [4] The musical is based on Jonathan Lethem's, The Fortress of Solitude . Mambo has also appeared in The Book of Mormon as Mafala during the first National Tour (2012-2013) and as Chancellor in Danai Gurira's The Convert (directed by Emily Mann) in 2011–2012. [5] He played Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the Broadway production of the musical Fela! at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre., [6] and appeared off-Broadway in Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Ruined at the Manhattan Theatre Club and at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Hoodoo Love at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Once Around the Sun at the Zipper Factory Theater, and Fela Is a Weapon at the Shrine Theater. Film and television credits include Cadillac Records , Nina , Mistresses ; Guiding Light (two-time Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series), One Life to Live , Soul Food , Any Day Now , Law & Order , Law & Order: Criminal Intent , Deadline , Law & Order: Trial by Jury , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , Spin City , Family Matters , Freshman Dorm , The Firing Squad , and One of Us Tripped . [7]
Afrobeat is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian and Ghanaian music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion, the style was pioneered in the 1960s by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who popularised it both within and outside Nigeria. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers."
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì was a Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers". AllMusic described him as "a musical and sociopolitical voice" of international significance.
Michael Frank Park is an American actor, best known for his roles as Jack Snyder on As the World Turns, Larry Murphy in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen (2016), and reporter Tom Holloway in the third season of the Netflix series Stranger Things (2019).
Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti, popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
As with any other idea, the idea for a performing arts production is copyrighted as soon as it is created. In order for any of these works to be performed, the proper licenses must be obtained. The only exception to this rule is with the case of works already in the public domain. This includes, for example, the works of William Shakespeare. Whether a work is in the public domain or not depends on the date it was created. If the work is not in the public domain, a license must be obtained to perform it. In many cases, the license for a Broadway production is called an option.
Robert Lopez is an American songwriter for musicals and playwright, best known for co-creating The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q, and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney animated films Frozen, its sequel Frozen II, and Coco, with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez. He is signed to Disney Music Publishing.
The Fortress of Solitude is a 2003 semi-autobiographical novel by Jonathan Lethem set in Brooklyn and spanning the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. It follows two teenage friends, Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude, one white and one black, who discover a magic ring. The novel explores the issues of race and culture, gentrification, self-discovery, and music. The novel's title is a reference to the Fortress of Solitude, a fortress constructed for Superman.
André Robin De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Tony Award.
Itamar Moses is an American playwright, author, producer and television writer. He gained acclaim for writing the book for the Broadway musical The Band's Visit (2017) receiving the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. He wrote the play Completeness (2011) earning a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. He wrote books for the musicals Nobody Loves You (2012), and Fortress of Solitude (2014). His latest play The Ally (2024) about a college teacher conflicted about signing a petition debuted at The Public Theatre.
Knitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activist Fela Kuti. The label promotes a variety of music artists including Ages and Ages, Ash Black Bufflo, Cuong Vu, Graham Haynes, Femi Kuti, Gary Lucas, Lumerians, Thomas Chapin, Patrolled By Radar, Joe Morris, Rachid Taha, Seun Kuti, and Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers.
Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, MON, also known as Funmilayo Aníkúlápó-Kuti, was a Nigerian educator, political campaigner, suffragist, and women's rights activist.
The Ransome-Kuti family is a Nigerian Yoruba political family noted for its simultaneous contributions to art, religion, education and medicine. It belongs to the Nigerian bourgeoisie, and also has historic links to the Nigerian chieftaincy system.
Michael Sahr Ngaujah is an American theater actor and director. Not long after his parents arrival from Sierra Leone via UK, Sahr was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Within five years his family relocated to Atlanta. He spent most of his early career working in experimental theater in Amsterdam. He made his breakthrough for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Fela Kuti in the 2009 Broadway musical Fela! He was nominated for his second Tony Award for his performance Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! (2019). On screen, he is best known for his roles in ABC's Last Resort (2012) and Netflix's Luke Cage (2018).
Lemi Ghariokwu, also known simply as Lemi, is a Nigerian painter, illustrator and designer who is most renowned for providing many of the original cover images for the recordings of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.
Fela! is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine.
John Michael Friedman was an American composer and lyricist. He was a Founding Associate Artist of theater company The Civilians.
Adesola Osakalumi is an American actor, choreographer, singer, and dancer whose talents have garnered him successes in film, television, and stage.
Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in the Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, a Daytime Emmy, and a Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. He then played Leo Frank in the 2022 New York City Center Gala production of Parade, which transferred to Broadway in 2023 and earned him another Tony nomination and another Grammy nomination.
The Fortress of Solitude is a musical with music and lyrics written by Michael Friedman, and a book by Itamar Moses adapted from The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem.
Felabration is an annual music festival conceived in 1998 by Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti in memory and celebration of her father Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist known for pioneering the Afrobeat genre of music. The one-week-long event which is held annually at the New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, attracts visitors from different countries and has thus been considered as an official tourist destination by the Lagos State Government.