"A Raisin in the Sun" TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
"A Raisin in the Sun" TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
colleen_lee
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
#1"A Raisin in the Sun" TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 7:45pmJust a reminder. I almost forgot, and I figured I probably wasn't alone.
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#2re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:30pm
Good so far. Excellent cast.
Wish I didn't miss this on Broadway.
#2re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:32pm
Hmmm. I like Rashad. Didn't think I would. Audra, whom I love in anything, is also great but I don't picture her in the part.
Combs - meh. So far...meh.
--Aristotle
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#3re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:35pmAnd they both won Tonys for it.
#4re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:41pmSo far it's exactly as I remember from Broadway- the women are spectacular, and Combs is just...there. He's not terrible, but the ladies are acting circles around him.
grnsmwhr
Stand-by Joined: 5/27/04
#5re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:41pmThe women are good. I want Sean to be good, but he sounds like himself. Meh. He doesn't have a very expressive face.
#6re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:50pmAudra and Rashad are wonderful. Combs looks much to young for the part though.
#7re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 8:54pmRuby Dee would be an amazing mother.
--Aristotle
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#8re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:17pmI'm starting it in about half an hour or so, in the hopes that I can bypass the commercials. I watched the original not long ago and was surprised at how powerful it was. I'm looking forward to this one.
MCfan2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/06
#9re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:27pmI'm liking Audra the best, which surprises me because I thought I'd like Phylicia the best. But they're both great.
#10re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:29pmAudra kissing Combs = GROSS! I feel so sorry for her.
--Aristotle
MCfan2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/06
#11re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:34pmSame here! As they used to say on "Mystery Science Theater 3000," she's earning her combat pay.
sanda
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/10/04
#12re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:39pm
Audra is soooo good! Well, has she ever not been good though? The three ladies are excellent. Combs, not so.
Am I the only one who feels that the background music is unnecessary and cheesy and distracting?
Rotel1026
Broadway Star Joined: 8/12/06
#13re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:45pmI just checked and this only ran from April-July 2004, was it just a limited engagement or did it not sell well? So far, I'm really enjoying it, not familar with the show but agree with everone else, Audra and Phylicia are great, Combs is just outclassed in this.
#14re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:48pm
Audra and Phylicia are fantastic. Hopefully they will be remembered come the time for the Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
While he is not in the same class as Audra and Phylicia, Combs is not bad. I actually am enjoying his performance.
#15re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:49pmwait when was this
MCfan2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/06
#16re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:51pm
I like the background music. But I've always liked the songs from that period.
We're ignoring poor Sanaa here. 
She's doing well too.
#17re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:54pm
Audra is soooo good!
Well, has she ever not been good though?
That was an exchange my friend and I had as well.
Audra kissing Combs = GROSS! I feel so sorry for her.
Ugh, I know. Even worse than Audra and Taye Diggs. She deserves so much better.
Wanting life but never knowing how
#18re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:57pmI'm not a fan of the underscoring, neither. It's distracting from the drama of the words. I have heard scores that enhance the words and magically set the mood. Here, in this TV film, not so much...
--Aristotle
#19re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 9:58pm
Rotel:
The 2004 revival was a limited engagement that I believe extended by a week or two due to "popular demand." The first few weeks it didn't sell all that well, but a few weeks later, it was SRO. You can check the grosses for it.
The audience was the most culturally diverse I had seen until the Color Purple. It was also filled with many young people hooting and hollering at the stage like it was a concert. It was sometimes distracting, but I remember feeling how great it was to see all these people who had never even heard of people like Audra McDonald, or even stepped into a theater so engaged and affected by the play.
As for this new film version, it is almost exactly the same as the stage production. The women are acting rings around Sean Combs, though he is doing better here due to the proximity and intimacy of the camera.
What I do remember is that whenever Walter Lee had a huge emotional moment or the equivalent of that, someone decided to have Sean turn around and face the wall so that he wouldn't have to show his face, and they seem to be doing that a lot here.
#20re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 10:00pmI was going to tape this. I haven't moved from the couch. it is wonderful. Just as wonderful as it was onstage. I expected Combs to be better her because he is more comfortable in front of cameras. But he was still good live onstage. JMO
#21re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 10:08pmI HATE HATE HATE HATE the John Stamos casting. It's distracting and he's not the best type for the role. Shame shame shame shame when you have to take a classic like A RAISIN IN THE SUN and fill it with big names in order to get an audience. Shame shame shame shame.
--Aristotle
#22re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 10:14pmHas he been onscreen yet? I missed the 1st segment. If he hasn't been onscreen, let's wait to see how he does!
donna_darko_23
Broadway Star Joined: 2/25/06
#23re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 10:15pmSean Combs. Wow. Not an actor. And this is only worsened due the amazing women giving fantastic performances.
#24re: 'A Raisin in the Sun' TV adaptation of 2004 Revival at 8PM on ABC
Posted: 2/25/08 at 10:17pm
His entrance was enough for me, uncageg. And now after seeing his scene, my feeling was correct. He did nothing wrong, he's just wrong for the part. And I don't like how that scene was directed.
Overall, so far, the film is solid and just 'OK.' The thing that kills it the most, for me, is the underscoring.
--Aristotle
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