Seriously, Aren't they just too old?

You're never too old to make some serious bank.

Why is Denzel Washington playing Walter Lee Younger in Raisin in The Sun?

It's the same answer to the question "why is that 50 year old guy dating that hot 24 year old?"

Because he can.

I was 29 years old when I played George Gibbs in OUR TOWN. It didn't stop me from getting glowing reviews.

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There's I think one reference to Walter's age in the script. It's not necessarily the driving force of what makes the play work or not, or the only element as to what Raisin in the Sun is about. I don't know if they are attempting to have Denzel play the role as 35, but he certainly doesn't look like a 60 year old man either, and the stage is always more forgiving than TV or film. When the casting was announced, producer Scott Rudin intriguingly told Newsday that he sees the play as being about a grown man being infantilized by his mother. If that's the approach, it's a valid and interesting one, and I think no further justification for the casting is required.

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It makes no sense period. Walter Lee is not about to retire. What 60 year old man uses his sisters college money to invest in a liquor store? The whole point of the show is that Walter Lee is stuck in his life as a 30 year old man, who's wife is about to have a baby. He is desperate to leave his life as a chauffeur and buy a business.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have read this play many times, I have seen several productions, and my opinion is it's insane, illogical, and does a great disservice to the play to let Denzel Washington play this role at this point in his life. I would think he would be embarrassed.

Denzel Washington is an actor. He'll act younger.

I'll still take Denzel over Sean John PDiddy Diddy Puff Daddy Puffy Combs.

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I'm almost 30, and was told by an agency that I'm not old enough to play the lead in Kinky Boots, yet they just added a cover who is actually 5 years younger than me. So, there ya go. It's all about how it looks on stage, not your actual age. I don't look my age, so therefore, no one is going to cast me as someone who is 30, even though I almost am.

I was actually surprised to find that Denzel was almost 60. I didn't realize that. And, I know it's terrible, but I don't know anything about the play, so I'm excited to see it with a blind eye.

I'm more surprised they cast a 41 year old Benethea!

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To me, the biggest hitch in a 59-year-old Walter is that his younger sister, Beneatha, needs money for her education.

So... that'd be a 40-something year gap between siblings? Even if Denzel, as dramamama rightly points out, plays younger than he is (and he usually does), a 40-something Walter still has about 20 years on Beneatha if she's at the end of her school-age-appropriate casting.

They'll still very likely do a good job with the material outside of that age objection, and the production will roll in the dough, and really that's the bottom line. Does it bother me? Sight unseen, yes. Will it bother me during the show? Hopefully not, though if the production is flat and dead than it will be difficult to ignore. Has it happened before and will it happen again? As safe a bet as there is while there are still bankable stars and roles they want to play, age recommendation be damned.

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LOL newintown, that's a good one!

I believe Denzel will play Baby June to Streisand's Rose in Gypsy.

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