Off- Off- OFF-Broadway Play About Sen. Obama

From Nairobi, Kenya's The Nation

A play based on Senator Barrack Obama's autobiography will be staged at the Kenya National Theatre in a month's time.

The Obama Dream is adapted from the Senator's autobiography Dream's from My Father and is directed by George Orido. ***

Senator Obama (Illinois) is an American whose father was a Kenyan from Siaya, Nyanza. He made history by becoming the youngest of the few blacks who have sat in the Senate. His story is therefore inspirational and one about overcoming all odds and making it to the top.

Whether Orido has managed to adopt the work successfully is open to debate and will be judged by those who watch the play at the Kenya National Theatre next month.

Orido's play has a cast of 50 and includes numerous musical scores in Luo and Western styles. Meshack Warambo is training the dancers while Orido is directing. Rehearsals are on at the KNT.

Racial harmony, hard work, determination and freedom are the underlying themes in the Obama play, which also underscores the dignity of one's ancestry and family values. And, watching the rehearsals, one sees a production that retains the beauty of the book although Orido does not dwell so much on the American point of view.

Orido is no stranger to script writing, directing and acting. He wrote and produced Loud Whispers, a one man show he adopted from the late Wahome Mutahi's Whispers column in the Sunday Nation.

The play will also will be shown in Kisumu, Mombasa and other towns.

Roadtrip anyone?