Friday, December 15, 2006

Sean 'Diddy' Combs Starts Production On TV Version Of 'Raisin In The Sun'

Sean "Diddy" Combs is transferring his Broadway experience to the small screen in a new television movie adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.
Production recently started on the three-hour feature in Toronto, Canada. The feature will air on ABC during the 2007 season.
Combs, who received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Walter Lee Jr. in the theatrical version of the drama, will reunite with fellow castmates Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan.
John Stamos for the TV reworking.
Set in the 1950s, A Raisin in the Sun follows a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side, in a moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred.
It was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway.
The play's original cast included Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett Jr. when it premiered in 1959. A Columbia Pictures feature version of the production with the same cast followed in 1961.
The drama's latest Broadway run resulted in a Best Actress Tony Award for Rashad, a Best Featured Actress Tony Award for McDonald and a Best Featured Actress Tony nomination for Lathan.
The ABC film will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the pair that executive produced the Oscar-winning film, Chicago.
Sean Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Television will also serve as executive producers.
Kenny Leon, who received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Director for his staging of the play on Broadway, will be make his film debut with the movie
The drama's TV adaptation is the latest acting achievement for Combs, who made his acting debut in the film Made and appeared in Monster's Ball, which starred Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton.