‘Lwanda Otero: The Musical’ Review: A Modern Retelling of a Kenyan Folklore That Sadly Sacrifices Depth for Humor and Light-Hearted Fun.

 The recent showing of Lwanda Otero: The Musical gave Nairobi another chance to show its ongoing romance with theater, and Nairobi did not disappoint. I was curious to see if the assembly of accomplished actors, dancers, singers, and instrumentalists will respond with a strong showing.

Music is at the heart of every musical and that is what welcomes us to the land of Kothbiro. Coupled with some lovely choreography and dance performances, it was a strong start.

We are then introduced to Rapcha, the story’s narrator and sort of village elder. He speaks of Lwanda’s exploits in the battlefield before requesting the people to welcome Lwanda to the stage.

We get to hear from the man himself and meet his bloodsuckers before learning of his unwavering dedication to the people of Kothbiro. However, while his victories are largely celebrated, there’s one question on everyone’s mind, “When will he marry?”

After another musical number, Lwanda announces that he is indeed ready to settle down, if he finds the right woman.

In the second act, we learn that Lwanda’s announcement has reached the rival tribe. The news is greeted with enthusiasm by The Commander and his two Troopers. This prompts the commander to announce his retirement, and is followed by another rather long musical number.

The celebrations are, however, cut short by Konte, who puts forth a new plot to finally rid the land of Lwanda. He proposes sending a woman to infiltrate Lwanda’s home and learn the secret of his strength.

This is where we meet Chichi, and after initial skepticism and some persuasion, the commander sees the merit of the idea and agrees to it.

The third act, the ‘soko’ scene, was clearly written to be the humorous act of the musical, with plenty of one-liners and trendy references. Peng Zee is who the tribe has put forward to be Lwanda’s wife, but he isn’t quite sold. Enter Chichi.

With a bit of coercion from his bloodsuckers, and some failed attempts, Lwanda manages to win Chichi over. This is, of course, to the displeasure of Peng Zee.

The fourth act takes us back to the rival tribe. We find out that the plot isn’t moving as quickly as The Commander would like. After interrogating Konte, he learns that there’s been no contact with the asset. Konte also goes on to share his relationship with Chichi, telling The Commander and two Troopers that he was to marry Chichi before she volunteered herself as the asset.

Konte’s revelation doesn’t go down well with the Commander. He orders Konte to make contact with the asset and also asks his two troopers to follow him and report what they find.

In Kothbiro, all seems well. We get a montage of how Lwanda treats Chichi and we see how she cares for him. When Lwanda decides to get some rest, Konte appears, revealing to Chichi that he had been watching them the whole time.

He pleads with her to finish the job so they can pick up where they left off. There’s one problem though. Chichi isn’t sure about that future anymore.

They have a heated exchange, with Konte threatening to disclose to Lwanda the entire plan if Chichi doesn’t complete her mission.

Lwanda wakes up to find Chichi crying but as he is consoling her, they are interrupted by a demonstration led by Peng Zee and the rest of the Kothbiro people. His choice of marital partner didn’t go down well. They declare him no longer the people’s champion.

Chichi seizes this opportunity and tries to get Lwanda to share the secret of his strength. The act ends with Lwanda in Chichi’s embrace.

We finally get to the climax, the confrontation between Konte and Lwanda. After an exchange of words and a bit of back and forth, Lwanda appears to have the upper hand. Konte manages to drag himself up, though, grabs his staff and thrusts it at Lwanda’s shadow.

Before he can finish the job, the Commander, stops him and orders him not to go after Chichi. The people of Kothbiro come to pay their respects, gathering around Lwanda’s body as the light fades. The lights cut back on and we see a pregnant Chichi standing next to Lwanda.

 All in all, Lwanda Otero: The Musical is a mixed bag. On the one hand, there were some good performances, humorous lines, well-performed songs, and properly executed choreography.

Like the musical’s first showing, the two troopers (played by Morris and Steve), were a crowd favorite. Their chemistry was seamless and they played off of each other’s energy remarkably well.

Martin Kigondu and Robert Agengo put in solid performances as The Commander and Lwanda respectively. Though they never got to share a scene until the end, their presence and command of the stage could be felt throughout.

The dancers, who doubled up as the people of Kothbiro, were superb, performing their roles excellently and elevating a lot of the scenes.

Of course I have to mention the music. Yes, the singers and band did a spectacular job. The instrumentation captured the different moods perfectly, setting the tone for each scene. However, I did feel as if some of the songs went on a little too long. Utaoa Lini and The Commander’s retirement montage are the few examples that come to mind.

Sadly, that is where the good ends. The rest wasn’t all bad. It just wasn’t consistent. Chichi (played by Nyawira Alison) had a few strong scenes, especially alongside Lwanda. She has a beautiful voice, which was well utilized. However, her scenes with Konte (Nyakundi Isaboke) weren’t convincing. If they didn’t keep mentioning it, you wouldn’t tell these two characters had plans to start a life together.

The bloodsuckers (Ibrahim Muchemi and Opura Victor) had brief highlights, but when compared to the troopers, they didn’t really do much. Rapcha (Kabue James) was a bit forgettable, which is sad to say given the character’s role.

While all these characters did have redeeming moments, I can’t really say the same for Konte and Peng Zee (Auudi Rowa).

As the main antagonists of the story, their performances didn’t match their importance. Isaboke seemed uninterested, simply narrating his lines with little conviction. Given most of his scenes had Kigondu and Morris in them, his performance was a stark contrast.

Peng Zee’s scenes weren’t necessarily unconvincing. I just felt the character did too much, even during moments when she didn’t need to. The musical’s choice to lean more towards comedy hurt the impact the character would have had.

I could have overlooked these performances if the story had more to it. Too much time was spent setting up the infiltration plot as well as the ‘soko’ scene, leaving little time for the conflict to play out.

We went from Konte threatening Chichi and the people of Kothbiro ‘disowning’ Lwanda straight to the fight. It would have been interesting to see these two characters struggle with the choices they had to make. To see Chichi torn between her love for Lwanda and her loyalty to her father and her people. To see Lwanda struggle with trusting Chichi and disclosing his secret.

Ultimately, Lwanda Otero: The Musical did an okay job at retelling a classic Kenyan folklore. However, I can’t help but wonder what it could have been if it chose a bit more depth instead of going for the low-hanging fruit of humor and light-hearted fun.

Kawira Gitonga