Dana Hall and Cheryl Lynn Bruce’s revamped version of "Sights and Sounds from the Black Metropolis" is high on musical profundity but uneven elsewhere.
Angélique Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. Kidjo also travels the world advocating on behalf of children in her capacity as a UNICEF and OXFAM goodwill Ambassador and created her own charitable foundation, Batonga, dedicated to support the education of young girls in Africa. The global superstar and four-time Grammy Award winner now stars in "Yemandja," a new music theater work that is a family drama and historical thriller infused with Greek tragedy and themes of love, betrayal, honor, free will, and the horror and injustice of slavery. Named for a Yoruban deity, this MASS MoCA co-commission a parable about gods and humans that illuminates through song what can happen when people are robbed of their culture. The musical will be performed at MASS MoCA on March 4 and 5.
Around the world, Benin-born singer, songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo is musical royalty. On Friday, March 4, at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, she will become