SARO THE MUSICAL : DAY 2 - RED CARPET PHOTOS

Creator and Executive Producer - Saro The Musical, Bolanle Austen-Peters and CEO of Afritickets, Olaotan Towry-Coker

The 2nd day of Saro The Musical was even greater than the 1st, guests trooped into the Oriental Hotel to watch the best musical play in Nigeria. From the 11am to the 1pm, 4pm and 7pm show, guests were thrilled to spectacular broadway-style theatre production.

See photos of guests on the red carpet below...

#SaroTheMusical: 100Man Cast, 9 Shows, 1 Venue, 3 Days, 1 Big City (A Pictorial Preview) -- 360NOBS

October 25th sees the opening of SARO The Musical, touted as the largest Broadway style production to come out of Nigeria.

On October 8th, we were treated to a preview of sorts of the stage musical that the producers promised us is going to blow us away. Not usual practice, the preview was actually a rehearsal but the team was keen to share their ambitions and give us an insight into the scale and vision of the production. The preview was held at Terra Kulture where they have been preparing but the production will be staged at the New Oriental Hotel Grand Ballroom which currently boasts the best stage in Nigeria.

Play: Saro of music, dance and drama - National Mirror

By Terh Agbedeh

Most masterpieces are also simple enough for everyone to relate to. The Preview of Saro: The Musical conceived and produced by Bolanle Austen-Peters penultimate Tuesday makes this assertion even more telling. In fact, in most cases, it is the elevation of that simplicity to a higher level of art that gives such pieces a classic tinge

Stage has an interactive feel all its own. Actors on stage often engage the audience in an exchange that makes every performance unique no matter how many times the actors mount the stage. It is the reason drama enthusiasts are drawn to stage. But when a stage drama also adopts music as well as dance, the resulting energy, particularly if connoisseurs are involved, is out of this world.

"Saro: The Musical steps into the future of Nigerian drama" - National Mirror

 The stage in Nigeria will come alive with a major cultural project tagged: Saro: The Musical between October and December. The musical, a production of the Victoria Island, Lagos-based Terra Kulture Art Centre will then tour other parts of the world for most of next year.

Created and produced by Mrs. Bolanle Austin-Peters, who also runs Terra Kulture, she said Saro is the story of four young men, who determined to break from the yoke of frustration and lack of opportunities to explore their talents and realise their dreams, decided to embark on a journey to the land of opportunities, Lagos.

“A devastating experience lands them in the lap of destiny, success ignites them and love fuels them,” she said.

Austin-Peters explained that Saro: The Musical is conceived as a patriotic cultural project, designed to serve as a response to the recent trend of Nigerian corporate organisations and the affluent importing theatrical packages from abroad without giving necessary encouragement or assistance to local talents to flower.

National Mirror Newspaper writes about SARO 

Full story here - National Mirror

IN SARO…WE TAKE YOU THROUGH THE ENTIRE MUSIC AND DANCE LORES OF THIS COUNTRY, says Gbenga Yusuf, Dance Director

“Saro will be a standard for any play of its kind in the future. It is distinctive because this time in Nigeria, we are using these different genres of arts on thread system. Every aspect is peaked whenever on stage.”-- Gbenga Yusuf, Dance Director for SARO

For the past two hours, I have watched you dance and give instructions…

Yes. I am the dance director for SARO, The Musical;I am basically focused on body movement and stage direction, formation and adding to the duties of cast on stage... I help with bringing the music to life with body movement -- dances; creating beautiful movement on stage and so on. Aesthetics is very key in musicals and adding costumes with body movement with different formations add grace to the production. So, that is my primary function in this show.

WATCH OUT... NIGERIANS HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MUSICALLY ACCOMPLISHED AS SARO, says AYO AJAYI, Music Director

"You see, from my experience in the music world, I know when something is marketable, I know when it is commercial; I know when people will appreciate things. When I sit down in my home to listen to music or see movies, I know which one is actually interesting or appealing to people… We are planning to do all genres of music -- synchronized it all together. Music is a universal language. If you are a Nigerian, you will understand it; a Ghanaian, you will understand, no matter where you are from in any part of the world, you will find SARO the musical interesting" -- Ayo Ajayi, Music Director for SARO

It has been pretty difficult to get a chat with you. you've been so busy???

Yes, I have been busy. SARO… is seriously a very big production; we are seriously into it. We have to devote our time.  A lot of commitment has gone into it, having an interview is actually something that comes at the background; not a major for us right now.

Saro- the musical. How great is Saro?
Well, Saro  is something that has never happened in this country before. Not as in the word but, with what we are bringing into it. According to research, Saro is a settlement… where former slaves who came back settled in an area of Lagos Island. In our own way, SARO is a big musical project, and that I can tell you boldly.

                                                                            

The Story Of SARO Musical

SARO is the story of four young men who are determined to break from the yoke of frustration and lack of opportunities to explore their talents and realize their dreams  decided to embark on a journey to the land of opportunities, Lagos.

“I AM COMPLETELY EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN SARO THE MUSICAL” -- Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters, Creator and Producer of SARO

Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters, Creator and Producer of SARO

“I want to appeal to their (audiences’) sense of aesthetics.I want to appeal to their sights through the sounds. I want them to feel they are in an international performance…
they could be in Paris, New York or anywhere in the world when they step into the theatre… because we are going to alter everything… we are doing what has never been done in Nigeria… it is not for the faint-hearted. But we intend to do it right. People should just come and have fun”.

Check Out Pictures From SARO Rehearsals Week Two

Musical theatre is a form of theatre that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. 

SARO - A MUSICAL PLAY

From its origin in the streets of Lagos, popular music in Nigeria took its root from African pop, bringing in influences and instruments from many ethnic groups and traditional music stylings. 

Despite the destructive attempts of the Atlantic Slave Trade coupled with  foreign religion and culture of  the ‘Potokis’ (Portuguese), Nigerian music established itself and became prevalent in the life of its people.

Nigerian music began to wear a new face with the influences of several cultures and music genres of the twentieth century; from the Waltz to the Tango, Rock ‘n’ Roll to Jazz, even South America’s Calypso to the Cha Cha. Traditional Nigerian heritage coupled with the influences of the emerging century birthed motivation and creation of what we call Nigerian music today.

Nigerian music, high life, afro beat, afro pop, afro fusion and the like remain highly entertaining, inspirational and deeply entrenched in culture. A composition of art imitating life and life imitating art, embraced not only by its natives but spanning across the continent and now the globe. Welcome to the heart of African music.

Welcome to the future!