Like a Raisin in the Sun(dance)
December 3rd, 2007 by Curt Holman in TV/Radio, TheaterKenny Leon, artistic director of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company, leaps from the stage to both television and film in a single bound. Leon has directed a TV adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun for ABC, using the same cast from his acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival of the play, including Sean “Diddy†Combs,
Sanaa Lathan and Tony winners Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald. ABC plans to air A Raisin in the Sun on Monday, Feb. 25 — the night after the network broadcasts the Oscars ceremony, which should give Raisin a boost.
Beforehand, however, Leon’s Raisin will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford’s famed cinematic event held in Park City, Utah, Jan. 17-27. According to the True Colors press kit, A Raisin in the Sun is the first broadcast film ever to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (although I wonder if that honor includes films made for cable channels like HBO).
Even so, it’s a terrific honor for Leon and will put the spotlight on the two Atlanta actors in the cast: Bill Nunn (who played Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing and Robbie Robertson in the Spider-Man trilogy) and 13-year-old Justin Martin – who, incidentally, played a Munchkin in True Colors’ 2004 and 2005 productions of The Wiz.
(Photo courtesy of True Colors Theatre)
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