P. Diddy to Star in 'Raisin in the Sun'

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/celebrity/...521.htm&sc=1404

 

P. Diddy to Star in 'Raisin in the Sun'

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA

 

NEW YORK (AP) - Sean Combs, better known as rap star P. Diddy, will make his Broadway debut this season in a revival of ``A Raisin in the Sun,'' Lorraine Hansbury's landmark drama about a black family moving into an all-white Chicago neighborhood.

 

``It is an American classic alongside `Streetcar,' `Death of a Salesman' and `The Crucible,''' producer David Binder said Wednesday. ``And it has never had a Broadway revival.''

 

The production, to be directed by Kenny Leon, will most likely begin rehearsals in mid-February, with preview performances starting in mid-March and an opening a month later, Binder added. The exact dates, the rest of the casting and the theater will be announced.

 

``We are approaching very seasoned New York theater actors'' to fill out the rest of the cast, the producer said, declining to be more specific. Combs has no stage experience. He has appeared in the movies ``Made'' and ``Monster's Ball.''

 

 

Binder said he contacted Combs last September after a mutual acquaintance suggested that Combs ``was interested in doing serious, challenging work in the theater.''

 

 

Combs auditioned several times for the producer, the casting director and Leon over the course of the fall. ``We were all incredibly impressed - he's focused on the work,'' said Binder, a producer of such off-Broadway hits as ``De La Guarda'' and ``Hedwig and the Angry Inch.''

 

 

Binder said he chose Leon, former head of the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, because the director ``respects writing.

 

 

He's interested in serving the play.''

 

 

The original production, which starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia MacNeil, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands, was a success on Broadway in 1959 and later as a 1961 movie with the same lead cast. It was made into a Broadway musical, starring Virginia Capers and Joe Morton, in 1973.

 

 

The title comes from a line in a poem by Langston Hughes: ``What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/Like a raisin in the sun?''

[ant_7000 0]

I never seen him act before is he any good? He needs a side gig because Bad Boy is on its last legs.

[1234-5678 0]

I never seen him act before is he any good? He needs a side gig because Bad Boy is on its last legs.

He was in "Made" with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. He was.........eh........not a very challenging role anyways. I think he'll do just fine on a broadway setting though, after all, he's been performing in front of crowds for years.

[The Czech Republic 0]

``We are approaching very seasoned New York theater actors'' to fill out the rest of the cast, the producer said, declining to be more specific.

You know, to compensate for the fact that the lead role is the complete opposite of that.

[Vern Gagne 0]

He was Halle Berry's husband in Monsters Ball. Never saw it, but he got pretty good reviews.

[justsoyouknow 0]

He was Halle Berry's husband in Monsters Ball. Never saw it, but he got pretty good reviews.

His role consisted of him getting electrocuted. He only got good reviews because people were like, "Man...go see Monster's Ball. Halle Berry has a sex scene, and Puff Daddy gets electrocuted!"

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

He was Halle Berry's husband in Monsters Ball. Never saw it, but he got pretty good reviews.

His role consisted of him getting electrocuted. He only got good reviews because people were like, "Man...go see Monster's Ball. Halle Berry has a sex scene, and Puff Daddy gets electrocuted!"

Yeah, it had nothing to do with her oscar winning performance. EVERYONE was just interested in her sex scene.

 

This movie will probably suck.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

Even though Diddy was only in "Monster's Ball" for a short time, he wasn't that bad at all. His mannerisms were pretty good, I thought. Of course, I only saw the flick for the sex scene. Berry naked aside, "Monster's Ball" is a pretty damn good flick.

 

Oh yeah, back to the subject, I don't see whay Diddy won't do a good job. Everything that guy does seems to turn out well, so hats off to him.

[justsoyouknow 0]

He was Halle Berry's husband in Monsters Ball. Never saw it, but he got pretty good reviews.

His role consisted of him getting electrocuted. He only got good reviews because people were like, "Man...go see Monster's Ball. Halle Berry has a sex scene, and Puff Daddy gets electrocuted!"

Yeah, it had nothing to do with her oscar winning performance. EVERYONE was just interested in her sex scene.

 

This movie will probably suck.

Of course, I only saw the flick for the sex scene. Berry naked aside, "Monster's Ball" is a pretty damn good flick.

 

Told you.

[Ravenbomb 0]

yes, but Halle Berry's sex scene also had a mostly naked Billy Bob Thornton, which canceled out any Berry nudity, cause that's just unpleasant.

[moral suasion 0]

I am not a P. Diddy fan, but at least he is doing a cool play. A Rasin in the Sun is an important piece of American literature.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Yeah I love Raisin In The Sun. I saw a video of a performance with Danny Glover as Walter. He was very good. Also the white guy was played by the man who did the voice of Piglet.