By Japhet Alakam & Prisca Sam-Duru

THE much talked about staging of the well promoted and Broadway-style showpiece; Saro the Musical was performed in Lagos at a grand premiere which was followed by several shows last weekend. The show witnessed a massive turn out of  enthusiastic theatre lovers, especially in the music industry who gathered at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, to enjoy super entertainment courtesy of the art loving woman and founder of Terra Kulture, Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters and her crew.

Three shows which were staged at 11am, 3pm and 7pm were completely sold out. The children show at 11am in particular, had a very impressive turnout of students from about 20 schools such as, Pine Field School Lekki,  Edgewood College Lekki, Temple Schools Ilupeju, and Greensprings Lekki.

The huge multi-dimensional stage, the colourful costumes, lighting and sound input, all added radiance to the brilliance of the actors, dancers, musicians, stunts-men, an indication of the quality of vision of the producers of the show.

*A scene from Saro, The Musical

It was a memorable outing as the performers thrilled the audience with a well-choreographed dance steps cum competent acting skills in jazz, afro-beat, hip-hop, highlife, juju, apala, as well as other contemporary Nigerian music genres.

Day 1 of the event attracted eminent Nigerians such as, former governor of Lagos State, Senator  Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the state’s Commissioner for Tourism, Hon Disun Holloway. Veteran actor-couple Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva; Nollywood star, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, who also played an exceptional role of a hostess in the musical, were among other dignitaries.

The second day of event had, apart from pupils and students who watched the first show, a modest crowd comprising theatre lovers and dignitaries filled the Hall for the third evening show. They were the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the international actress Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, the poet, activist, Odia Ofeimun; dramatist and culture journalist, Ben Tomoloju; renowned  filmmakers, Tunde Kelani and Femi Odugbemi; the Architect and designer of the Freedom Park and the Kalakuta Museum, Theo Lawson; banker, Kayode Aderinokun, comedian Teju Babyface,  and Steve Onuh aka Yaw, and others.

Also at the opening was Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke, who described the production as simply phenomenal. Duke commended the Executive Producer, Bolanle Austen-Peters and her team, for the excellent production.

According to him, “Bolanle Austen-Peters has gone around into the recesses of Lagos and recesses of Nigeria; she has brought the rough and the smooth and merged them into a kaleidoscope of stars. This is truly fascinating Nigeria. This is the commonwealth of Nigeria. This is the property that we have several years to enjoy and I want to say she is a phenomenal lady to have thought about all of this.”

Right step for theatre development

According to Duke, “Often time, we get invited to different venues in Lagos where corporate organisations have gone to South Africa, to East Africa to bring individuals and groups to entertain us but here we are the very best of Africa. A repertoire of songs and dances, properly choreographed, dexterous dancers, pulsating drumbeats and the musical is just phenomenal.

Veteran actor and actress Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva said the show is a good step in the right direction for theatre development in Nigeria.

However, while most  commentaries were on the positive side, some of the audience members weren’t impressed with the sound quality of the day 1, though they showered endless praises on the technical input into the play which led to its rich spectacle, some complained that they found it difficult understandingwhat the  actors said but by the second day, the troublesome sound was effectively tackled by the technical team led by Teju Kareem, and thus Day 2 was such a spleendid experience for Nigerians.

Mrs. Oluwatoyin Edun, one of the witnesses to this great event said,”watching SARO has brought the whole Lagos thing back to me. Lagos is actually a land filled with opportunities where people actually come, find their dreams and keep them. I think it’s so amazing having a Nigerian do this for us; we’ve seen Fela on Broadway, Lyla King On Broadway but SARO (in Nigerian Broadway), happens to be a classic one”.