PLAYHOUSE UNPLUGGED AT MUSON CENTER

By Yemi Olakitan

It was an evening of the best of musical theatre as the Musical Society of Nigeria, MUSON in association with the Playhouse Initiative staged, Unplugged, a collection of different genres of music performed with a mix of dramatic expressions. This was part of fresh plans aimed at reviving theatre culture at the MUSON Centre in line with the original vision of its founding fathers.
Speaking in an interview, Chief Executive Officer, Marian Akpata, said such a step was necessary since the centre was fast becoming a place for religious and social functions. She said the centre would return to the foundation, which was laid down, by Akintola Williams, Ayo Rosiji and all the great Nigerians who worked tirelessly to build the MUSON centre.
According to her, it is the only way to contribute to the development of theatre arts in Nigeria, saying, “This is why we are staging the musical, Unplugged, which is produced by the Playhouse Initiative. MUSON was built for the enjoyment of musical theatre in all its beauty and what we are doing is to keep that legacy alive”.
Unplugged was a combination of music, dance, and drama sketches. The evening became truly unplugged as the performance traveled through different musical forms. It was a theatrical rendition of about 27 different songs, which were rendered in dramatic fashion with some percussion and jazz instruments over a period of about one hour and forty minutes by members of the Playhouse consisting of young and talented Nigerian musicians. The performances were taken from Andrew Lyord Becham’s plays: Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Superstar, and Cat.
The performance paraded songs from Fela Anikulapo’s Afrobeat and highlife music as well as compositions by Michael Jackson and Bob Marley. The Playhouse group began the show with an opening sketch tagged: This is Playhouse. It started with songs such as ‘Little Innocent Lamb’ and ‘Redemption’ song by Bob Marley. The lead singer’ Bennett Ogbeiwi’ was in shackles as he interpreted the song. His acting blended well with the song as his masterful facial expressions gave emotional fillip to the performance.
The second sketch, ‘Magic of the Broadway’ had songs such as ‘Music of the Night’, ‘That’s all I ask of you’ and ‘Gethsemane’, ‘Could we meet again’, ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’. The third sketch was ‘Lagos Na Wa’, with songs such as ‘Love wan tin tin’, ‘Lagos Baby’ and ‘Me I like my country’, which was rendered in the spirit of the Nigerian independence celebrations. According to Leye Adekunle, a theatre enthusiast who was at the show, ‘Playhouse’ was a highly creative brand of theatre group in Nigeria and everyone needed to see them in actual performance.
The Playhouse Initiative was formally established in 2007 as a non-profit organisation to mentor young adults, using music and drama as a medium for youth development by Uche Nwokedi, a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria and his wife, Winifred Nwokedi, after many years of organising and producing musical plays for young people. The vision is to develop a positive way of impacting proper moral and social values to young people in a very special way. The playhouse is involved in some charity projects, all of which are aimed at encouraging young Nigerians to develop their God-given talents. The Playhouse hopes to foster a rainbow coalition of young people from diverse backgrounds through music and drama.
In the last seven years, the founders of the Playhouse have successfully produced several musical plays at the Agip Recital Hall, which include, ‘Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dream Coat’, ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar’ and ‘The Vision’, all of which received critical acclaim. To date, the Playhouse group has presented a total of 21 performances at the MUSON Centre and other places. The Playhouse has also staged six musical productions as part of the Terra Kulture Theatre project with a standing choral group of about 30 young people and a choir of 16 voices dedicated to liturgical music called ‘The Lagos Schola Contorum’.
According to Executive Director of Playhouse Initiative, Winifred Nwokedi, “Unplugged is a revue; a concept that has its roots in popular American theatre. It is a successful amalgam of several theatre traditions that blends with different genre of music that is performed in one continuous fluid motion”, saying the inspiration to set up Playhouse came as a result of her early childhood experiences as a student in St. Louis Grammar School, Ibadan and St. Gregory College, in the 60s and 70s when arts and culture were a major curricular of the educational system and was a way of developing young people.
She said, “Unplugged is a pleasing musical experience. It is as exciting as it is fresh, a complete entertainment for the family. Playhouse is a call to the Nigerian people to return to the theatre culture.
“In terms of technology, sound engineering, theatre effects, lighting and scenic design, we are behind and we need to catch up. During the time of our theatre heroes such as Duro Ladipo, Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, theatre was very vibrant and when these generations passed, there came a vacuum in the theatre that led to the emergence of the home video industry. We have not filled that vacuum yet. We do not have a purpose-built theatre. If you look at the National Arts Theatre and compared that to what is happening abroad, you would see that the world has moved ahead of us in terms of theatre technology and all. We need to move forward because this is our country. We have so much talent, so much human resources that need to be utilized, and so much to do”.
Programme Director of MUSON, Gushi Egbumine also lent his voice when he said, “Playhouse fascinates young and old Nigerians alike”, adding that anyone who loves musical theatre would appreciate the Playhouse performances. Speaking further he said the Muson Centre would always have something to offer on a regular basis, saying, “We are working towards an exciting show every weekend. This is just the beginning”.

Our Meditations

From Ernest Holmes, Thoughts to keep in mind

"We believe that the Mind of God governs all things. We believe that there is a Divine Intelligence governing and guiding, counseling and advising, and causing us to know what to do under every circumstance and at all times, if we will only trust it. We believe that at the center of every problem is its own solution."

"There is a Mind in us that knows what to do under every circumstance. God has no problems. God is the Presence and the Power that knows all things and can do all things. There is no thought of doubt or limitation. We should feel that the answer is established in our consciousness and will make itself known to our mind, right now, in our present experience. In this way we seek to receive the answer instead of the problem. This can be done only as we let go of the problem, as a problem, and definitely expect its answer."

Mediate and Pray

The Labour of the foolish wear them out because they know not how to go to the city-
The Bible

All our Dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them- Walt Disney

if we we must be honestly successful in this life we must have courage,we must have hope, we must sustain faith, we must work hard, not only that, we must work very hard.--- Yemi Olakitan

Fortitude

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven."
— Orson F. Whitney

The Ingredients

The Ingredients of Success in Life are clear:
Determination
Hard work
Faith in God
Vision
Wisdom
Struggle (sometimes)
Team Work
Study
Discipline
Integrity
These are the attributes i strive to cultivate.
May God help me
Yemi Olakitan

About Life

It is not Life that Matters but the Courage we bring into it- Obafemi Awolowo