Cast Bios
Sir Marcell
(Fela)
Ide Marcellinus Owodiong-Idemeko, a.k.a Sir Marcell is a singer, actor, creative director and entrepreneur. Sir Marcell found his love for the performing arts around the tender age of 8, where he would participate in church and school plays alike. He was later encouraged to professionally pursue this career path by his Drama teacher, Mr. Thomas Graham who realized Sir Marcell's talent and potential. During his college years, he was able to take on principal & supporting roles in productions like, 'The Country Wife', 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood', and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' amongst others. Sir Marcell made his Clubhouse theatrical debut in the first ever Clubhouse production of the musical, 'The Lion King', directed by Noelle Chestnut Whitmore, where he played the vocal double of Scar, singing the popular "Be Prepared" musical number. He is now excited to be joining the cast of the Fela! production on Clubhouse, playing the lead role of Fela Kuti.
Jumoke Fashola
(Funmilayo)
Jumoké Fashola is an award winning Radio & Television Broadcaster, Jazz Singer and Actress. Her theatre credits include Temi Wilkey’s 'The High Table' (Bush Theatre/ Dir, Daniel Bailey) Zawe Ashton’s 'For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad' (Hackney Showroom/ Dir, Jo McInnes) and Kurt Weill’s 'Lost in the Stars' (Southbank/Dir. Jude Kelly).
As a vocalist, she has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall alongside Dionne Warwick, performed with Bobby McFerrin at the Meltdown Festival - Royal Festival Hall, sung Handel’s Messiah at the London Arena and performed with the Royal Ballet. In 2019, she became the first woman ever, to sing the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s St John Passion performed with the Chorus of Dissent. Her solo album is ‘The Condition of Being A Woman.’
She currently presents 'J to Z' on BBC Radio 3 and 'Sunday Breakfast - Inspirit' for BBC Radio London. Her other radio credits include, Everywoman (BBC World Service), Pause for Thought (BBC Radio 2), You and Yours (BBC Radio 4).
She is the creator and host of the monthly 'Jazz Verse Jukebox, (which had a 7 year residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London), now based at Hoxton Hall, London. www.jumokefashola.com
Placeholder Text Box
Genevieve Nnaji
(Sewaa)
NC Grey
(Najite)
NC Grey is a British-Nigerian singer & songwriter whose sound is a blend of contemporary pop, soul and jazz. Her debut project ’Magic The EP’ garnered her a nomination in the 2018 Unsigned Music Awards; Blues & Jazz category and she has played various festivals and venues across Ireland, and the UK. She’s shared the stage with the King of Neo-Soul; Roy Ayers, Nigerian Afro-soul Queen; Simi and the likes. NC played 4 slots at the 2019 Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and ended the year with a packed out headliner at renowned soul/jazz venue; The Sugar Club. Besides music, NC is currently studying at Identity School of Acting and has worked as a voice actor for a children’s book amongst various brands.
Nneamaka Nwadei
(Omolara)
Nneamaka Nwadei is excited to join the cast of Fela! on Clubhouse. Her journey as a professional actor started in 2014 at the Department of Dramatic Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She graduated with a major in acting and a minor in dance. She has acted in several plays like Jankariwo, The Palmwine Drinkard, Red Is The Freedom Road, and Azagidi, to mention a few. Nneamaka is also known for her role as Russell Parker in Ceremonies In Dark Old Men, Pelumi in Pelumi: The Musical and Bimbo in My Room My Doom: a One-Woman play presented at the 2020 Lagos Theatre Festival.
As an undergraduate, Nneamaka worked at the campus radio station, producing radio dramas for the university community. She volunteers as voice-actor for the World Literacy Foundation, where she records E-Books for children in African Countries. She writes and directs performances for her local church. Nneamaka is an avid reader, who likes to travel, try new food and learn new languages. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria Nneamaka hopes to tell African stories that inspire, inform and entertain people all over the world. She is presently a Broadcast Journalist at the Nigerian Television Authority.
Comfort Dangana
(DJ Switch)
Comfort Dangana is a Manchester based actress who studied Drama at Liverpool John Moores University. Comfort is excited to be part of the cast of Fela, playing the role of DJ Switch. She has recently worked on filming training content for private corporations across the UK as well as participated in community based short films. Along side acting Comfort is also training to become a therapist. When not on stage Comfort works as a mentor for a charity using her writing and drama skills to empower young women from the BAME community in Manchester. She also enjoys spending her time with family and friends especially her wonderful and charismatic daughter Eden. Comfort is an avid reader of all genres with favourite writers ranging from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to Dr Nicole Lepera. She has found new interest in Voice drama especially in animation after a summer long initiation into the world of anime. Comfort has also be a voice for social change in the past year especially for the plight of those in Southern Kaduna Nigeria, raising funds and staging protests here in the the UK. She would like to thank her family and friends who have supported in all endeavours.
Uche Ogodi
(JK Braimah, Teju)
Uche Ogodi is a long-time veteran of the performing arts having worked on and performed in stage productions from a very early age. Having been drawn to the arts from an early age, Uche credits a strong support system for the early freedom to cultivate a love for theatre, dance, and of course music. Working as an educator, Uche infuses his lesson plans with artistic verve, hoping to share his love for all things creative with the next generation. Performing and producing music and other creative works under the name “BriiiteLord the NormCore Immaculate” or “BriiiteLord” for short, Uche can be heard on on all streaming and sharing his short stories on ClubHouse (“Briiite’s Tales”). Uche feels extremely fortunate to be part of this production and looks forward to supporting the work of a great artist as able.
I’m Agboluaje Muhammed Adebimpe, from Oyo state. I’m primarily a marine engineer, but I love to tell stories so I put pen to paper. I also make art, painting and pencil drawing basically. Acting is next in line in the challenges I wish to take up.
Muhammed Agboluaje
(Driver)
Adeola, a graduate of pure and applied mathematics with a passion for acting. He has been part of many stage plays amongst which was King Amayanabo, (at the National Youth Service, National Art festival) where he acted as King Amayanabo. Adeola is excited to be part of this project.
Adeola Adebari
(Tunde, Cultural Consultant, Dialect Coach)
Malikat is a native of Chicago, but grew up as an internationally-minded third culture kid with Yoruba, Ga, and Hausa heritage. She is a proud alumna of Spelman College and Johns Hopkins University who finds balance and joy in her chosen creative outlets, namely dancing and singing. She is honored to share the stage with such talented performers in her first Clubhouse performance. Pre-pandemic, you could find her living and learning abroad, or in her home base, Washington, DC.
Malikat Rufai
(Sandra)
Independent California based Afrobeats artist originally from Lagos, Nigeria. Bringing to you Afrofusion, fun, upbeat, inspiring music for the soul. Opened for major African artists such as BURNA BOY, OLAMIDE, MR EAZI, and YEMI ALADE.
Aliu Ajala
(Babalawo)
Middle school ELA teacher by day and singer/ voiceover artist by night. Lover of God, music, good grammar, and bringing any written script to life!
Latoya Ransom
(Radio Journalist)
Crew Bios
Funa Maduka
(Writer, Director, Producer)
Funa Maduka is a filmmaker and the former head of International Original Films at Netflix where she worked with the world's top global and emerging filmmakers. Over six years, she was positioned at the frontline of the company's global expansion, managing the launch of the film offering across 100+ countries. She pioneered Netflix' move into international film production, building a development slate across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Meanwhile her film acquisitions brought Netflix its first film nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Previously she worked at Participant Media developing and managing campaigns for film and television projects. She has held leadership and strategic positions at McKinsey & Company, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Goldman Sachs. She holds a BA in History from Cornell University and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where she served on the Board of Trustees and as President of the Student Body, respectively. She is an awarded filmmaker, credited with producing and directing the first Nigerian film to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Olabimpe Olaniyan
(Producer, Stage Manager)
Olabimpe Olaniyan is excited to join the league of Broadway adaptations! She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, minoring in Computer Science and International Engineering.
She currently works as a Data Science Consultant for Accenture, with her expertise covering cross-industry data strategy and customer retention advising for Fortune 100 corporate executives.
Her previous theatre credits include stage managing 'Ark 5' and 'Anything Goes' at the Middleton Performing Arts Center and 'The Three Musketeers' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Marcellus Wesley is an independent engineer working in both live sound and production and post audio for more than 14 years. He loves creating custom sound textures to evoke emotions.
He is a co-owner as well as the head engineer with his wife of Sound Signature LLC established in 2018. Marcellus is an Alumni of Hampton University with a BS in Music Engineering Technology and enjoys sailing. Additionally, a father to a new baby girl.
Marcellus Wesley
(Technical Director, Sound Designer)
Ellen Marte
(Visual FX Director, Graphic Designer)
Ellen Marte is a digital artist based in New Jersey and New York City and she is honored to help bring the visual story of Fela to life on the Clubhouse stage as VFX Director. While having a particular focus in portraits, she has provided visual art and graphic design support for past productions on Clubhouse such as the romantic comedy Once Upon a Clubhouse and a film noir adaptation of Oedipus Rex. Outside of her artistic pursuits, Ellen has performed research on an array of topics such as child development, urban development, and education policy. She holds an M.A. in Psychology from CUNY Hunter College and a B.S. in Applied Psychology from NYU.
Amanda Ezechi
(Marketing Director)
Amanda received her BA in Journalism and Politics as well as a degree in Business of Entertainment, Media and Tech from NYU. She is a TV writer, development producer and creative strategist focused on stories that demand the reimagining of our world. She has written, produced and directed a plethora of digital content including podcasts, web series and docudramas. As a creative development producer and strategist, she’s helped bring ideas to life at NBCUniversal, PBS, and various independent companies. To date, she is most proud of founding Raised, a social collaborative platform an offshoot of By The Village Co-op, where Black dreams are nurtured, developed and funded.
Dorcey Kuti
(PR Director)
Dorcey Kuti is a Texas resident, born in Washington DC to Nigerian and Ghanaian parents. Ms. Kuti attended Texas A&M University- Kingsville and graduated with a double Bachelor in Mass Communications and Marketing. After college, she was offered a position as junior publicist at one of Houston’s most respected independent record labels. She quickly learned the ins and out of the music industry and built strong relationships amongst media and press. As her career in Public Relations grew, Dorcey decided to pursue her dreams of entrepreneurship and founded, Gazelle Public Relations. Gazelle Media Group (formally Gazelle PR) was founded with a vision of building the reputation, image and credibility that the brand deserves by putting forth-strong marketing and PR campaigns.
Prior to launching Gazelle PR, Dorcey served as “Houston Program Manager” at Media Star Promotions for 5 years as head Marketing and Events Manager for the agency. Her biggest work with the agency was spear heading the Houston-leg of the 40-city New Jazz Philosophy tour. In addition to large agency experience, Dorcey has worked in marketing and public relations for over 15 years. Dorcey’s client experiences over the years include working with leading talent and brands. Specializing in Music, Fashion, Consumer Goods, Lifestyle, and Non-profit, these brands include some of the following: Red Bull NA, Wreckshop Records, Priority Records, Fashion Designer Edwing D’Angelo, Atlantic Records R&B group Sophia Fresh, The American Dream Film, The Roots, John Legend, Common, Busta Rhymes, Floetry, Miri-Ben Ari and most recently, iconic legend, Chaka Khan.
Placeholder Text
Cavemen, Phillip Uzo
(Music Directors)