A Critical Study of the Multifarious Uses of Music and Song in Femi Osofisan's Midnight Hotel

Abstract This paper is focused on critically evaluating the potential and power of music and song in the theatre craft. The paper critically examines the various roles music and song play in Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel play. Music and song in this play have been, summoned by Osifisan in the quest for experimentation and a radical ideological presentation of the socio-political ills in the post-colonial Nigeria. In this play, Osofisan subverts the Nigerian political and historical background to create a comic operatic satire. In this experimental work, music and song play a wide variety of functions: from being a major character with a strong voice to creating a sensitive aesthetic entertaining and evocative mien in the work. Through these resources, Osofisan is able to criticize the society and elicit responses from his audience while mobilizing them to participate in the play