Jay-Z–endorsed, Tony Award–winning Fela! is the Broadway musical built around two huge talents: Fela Kuti, the late Afrobeat superstar, and Bill T. Jones, the American dance legend/MacArthur Genius who created and choreographed this tribute to Kuti’s life and music. Tonight, SIFF Cinema presents a simulcast of the current London production of Fela! live from the National Theatre. For those who want some brainy cultural context with their Afrobeat, there’s a preshow talk by Saheed Yinka Adejumobi, professor of history, global African studies, and film studies at Seattle University. (SIFF Cinema, 321 Mercer St, 324-9996, talk 7 pm/screening 7:30 pm, $20)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...