The most disturbing theatre experience of my life--A Raisin in the Sun- Page 3

Posted: 4/21/04 at 10:19pm

wow.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 10:25pm

Auggie,
That was a very eloquent and well written review.
Thank you.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 2:13am

We have the amazing dissapearing post problem again. If you want to see auggie's review you have to push the
'next page' button on the second page of this thread to see it in the Modern View, pushing the '3' button will make it dissapear.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 1:37pm

So when is the official opening for this? i think I will enjoy the times review inmensley.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 2:38pm

It just hit me the other day about Sean Combs being cast in RAISIN....who the hell else would be cast?

RAISIN IN THE SUN needs to be done on Broadway. Period. That's all there is to it. To get the butts in the seats you HAVE to have a star as Walter, it's that simple...no if's an's or but's. There is no other way a play like RAISIN would have a chance against so much of the ding-a-ling crap that's popular on Broadway. Okay, so: A household name black leading man in his mid-thirties with the chops to play Walter. Who? Will Smith is definately a leading man household name but how could he turn down all those profitable movie roles. So he's out. Well, there's.....there's.....ummmmmmmmmmm....Martin Lawrence? Chris Rock? Chris Tucker? All comic actors who aren't very good when they venture out of their own personas. Jeffrey Wright? Not a household name at all and arguably too old. Ice Cube? Good actor but not a leading man. Who?

More and more the Sean Combs-in-RAISIN controversy is looking less like a case of a star's egomania and producers greed than a national general dislike of black men. Why hasn't there been a black male bankable star between Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington? They're all comics or supporting players! No wonder they went with Combs. He's probably the best household name they could get.

If Sean Combs is as scattershot as advance word has it, the entire production is a disaster....for producers, for a potentially good actor, for everyone. It's a shame Broadway will have to wait until America accepts a leading man African American actor outside of Denzel before RAISIN is seen again on Broadway.

[DAME]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 3:32pm

Borstal,
Perhaps it would have been smatter if he first would have wet his feet in some regional theater or maybe ven taken a acting class???? But I truly believe thers nothing wrong in getting a name to fill seats. Broadway is a risky business venture.

Updated On: 4/22/04 at 03:32 PM

[EVGIRL]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 6:24pm

There is a short feature on Raisin in the Sun on Broadway.com in the Stage Notes column. It says he did well, and the whole production is a must see. I don't know how seriously to take that because that column seems to have something good to say about everything and everyone even that Taboo disaster. I'm seeing Raisin in the Sun after its opening so I'll let you know what I think. Updated On: 4/22/04 at 06:24 PM

[Al Dente]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 6:52pm

Raisin, is the only thing I'm rushing to see when I'm back in NY, regardless of what has or hasn't been said about Combs. It's still one of my favorite plays.

To address something Borst said, Wright does not read any older than Combs, particularly on stage and would have been an inspired choice. There are also a handful of young, extremely talented, African-American actors that you failed to mention. Don Cheadle, Omar Epps, Mos Def, etc..., none of whom are comedians and/or goofy sidekicks. Again, I'll save my thoughts about Combs' performance, untill i actually SEE his performance, but there are more GOOD actors out there, besides Will Smith (don't like him all that much anyway), that would have fit the bill rather nicely.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/22/04 at 8:36pm

I agree with those who mention the realities of Broadway and stars, even when the chosen stars are seen as stunt casting.

I'm remembering many other instances of this syndrome that provoked ire and resentment. Way before MOONSTRUCK, even before SILKWOOD, Robert Altman cast Cher in JIMMIE DEAN, to costar with Sandy Dennis, Karen Black, Kathy Bates ... and it was considered a risk. And with those gals, the show closed in 3 months anyway. (PS: Cher was wonderful.) And then Madonna in the Mamet sliver of a play, SPEED THE PLOUGH. And Raquel Welsh in WOMAN OF THE YEAR, replacing Bacall. And Melanie in CHICAGO.

So Mr. Combs participation in the project isn't some huge, new slap in the face of intelligent NY casting. Projects have often been built around a name being used to secure box office. This time, however, we have the magnificent Felicia, Audra, and Sanaa to ground Ms. Hansbury's classic, and a wonderful director in K. Leon. This is not some thrown-together summer stock package masquerading as a broadway endeavor. They have built a respectful and very respectable revival from the ground up. I've read interviews with Rashad and McDonald, and both are on record in strong support of Combs' investment and commitment. Does anyone think these gifted women would appear in a show built around a stupid commerical idea that cannot posibly serve the text? I don't. Even if he is pronounced a failure, in some reviewers' estimation, to me this will have been a risk worth taking. We need to invest in Broadway audiences, and to find ways to fill seats.

Updated On: 4/22/04 at 08:36 PM