Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR?? — Page 2

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#26

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 3:56pm

Okay, There is one and only one possibility for Blanche in an African-American staging of STREETCAR.

That would be Ms. Viola Davis.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

#27

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:04pm

Viola Davis was the first name to come to mind for me too, but at the same time I think she's almost too strong for the role, she would sweep the floor with Will Smith, frankly it's hard to think of someone who could match her. I haven't seen FENCES but it seems like Denzel was able to do well opposite her, so more reason to cast her as Stanley. Smith is simply an awful choice for the role.
And by the way, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF could have worked wonderfully if only the cast hadn't been led by an awfully awkward Terrence Howard and a misguided James Earl Jones. Anika Noni Rose was a brilliant Maggie, I'll never forget the experience of watching her carry the play on her shoulders, she also swept the floor with Howard which was a shame.
For the record, Jada was offered the role of Stella, not Blanche.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

#28

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:10pm

I directed an all-black production of STREETCAR in college. If you commit to the performances given and suspend your disbelief, it works.

However - this casting idea is atrocious. Why Will Smith? So there's an excuse to see his chest? Taye Diggs'd be better. Not as big a name, but he'd be better. Probably not by much... but some.

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#29

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:16pm

I agree that Viola Davis would be great as Blanche. I always have trouble remembering who Jada Pickett Smith is--I get her mixed up with Viveca Fox. I don't see Will Smith as Stanley--I've always thought of him more as a movie star than an actor--but who knows.

#30

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:19pm

I don't think it's a horrible idea at all.

It's one of my favorite plays, and I think that Will Smith is an interesting choice for the role.

Viola Davis came to mind immediately for Blanche...she'd be amazing.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#31

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:34pm

I'm not saying, by the way, that because I directed it in college that it works. (I did it because I saw an opportunity to work with some peers that I respected on something we'd probably never otherwise get to do...) It most certainly has it's flaws and makes the Polack references a bit awkward. But the play has NOTHING to do with race when it all comes down to it. It's still just as sexy, ferocious and thrilling, black, Asian, white, whatever.

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#32

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 5:49pm

I have no problem with them doing a Broadway show, I'd just rather they choose something a little better suited to their talents. Blanche is a terribly demanding role. There are actresses who have worked on the stage for years who won't touch Blanche. There are plenty of great plays out there for them tackle...this just isn't the one.
I'd like to see them both in a comedy personally. Now if they staged the Streetcar musical from the Simpsons...

#33

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:01pm

Wait, I assumed Jada PS is playing Stella--I don't see her as Blanche at all.

#34

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:12pm

I'd love to see Taraji P. Henson as Stella.

#35

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:15pm

Call me crazy, but I have never understood the whole "So And So Is Not Right For The Role" argument based on things like "he isn't butch enough" or "she is too butch" ; Isn't that why they are ACTORS? Actors play people who are not like them all the time. Yeah, radical, eh? A soft-spoken, shy, effete actor can play a loud, foul-mouthed street hooligan character, and an abrasive goofball can play a painfully shy character, because that's what acting is. Sometimes these big-star vehicles on Broadway "don't work" more because of audiences expectations than because of any real inadequacies on the performers' part.

In any case, looking forward to see these two stretch their acting muscles, and I will reserve judgment until AFTER I see the play. Sure, maybe they will be terrible, or maybe they will astound us, but I will go in with an open mind.

#36

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:23pm

I could see Vanessa Williams as Blanche.

#37

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:26pm

I think Audra could do blanche, as well.

#38

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:43pm

AC, Taraji P. Henson would make a divine Stella, now THAT'S great casting.
And Burgos, some people are just better suited for a role than others, not all actors are able to transform themselves into almost any role. Stanley needs the presence of an incredibly masculine, tough, and of course in other ways vulnerable, man, a combination that I highly doubt Smith could bring to a role. Just like you wouldn't cast Angelina Jolie as Stella for example, she's too strong a presence and might be better suited for an all-female version of STREETCAR as Stanley. Stars bring in their personas to the parts they play, it's a basic fact.

#39

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:48pm

Yeah, I do agree that Jada is too strong for Stella.

Taraji P. Henson would be the perfect Stella.

For Blanche, I'd be interested to see:

Thandie Newton
Vanessa Williams
Viola Davis
Anika Noni Rose

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#40

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:52pm

I will say that Thandie Newton on Broadway is one of the only times I could see myself lining up at a box office ready to pay whatever they're asking for front row center seats.

#41

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 6:55pm

She's the best suited one for the role that I can think of.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#42

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:10pm

Viola Davis as Blanche would get me front row center as many times as possible. She would be incredible.

#43

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:12pm

Audra, Viola or maybe even Vanessa Williams for Blanche for me.

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#44

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:12pm

Oops, double post. And I sure need a new avatar. Been a looooong time since I posted actively.

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

Updated On: 7/16/10 at 07:12 PM

#45

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:24pm

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#46

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:30pm

Years ago, I think Phylicia Rashad would have actually made a brilliant Blanche.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#47

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:37pm

She can play Stanley.

#48

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 7:43pm

I just don't think that it makes sense based on the text to have an all-black cast- particularly for Stanley. Particularly when his ethnic background is rather important. And he's referred to as a polack.

"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

#49

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 8:08pm

I think Carla Gugino would also make a terrific Blanche.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#50

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to star in STREETCAR??

Posted: 7/16/10 at 8:10pm

But she's white. That would be "non traditional" casting.

Duh.

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