Denzel Washington To Direct All-Star Cast Featuring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman In Netflix Adaptation Of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
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June 22, 2019Denzel Washington To Direct All-Star Cast Featuring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman In Netflix Adaptation Of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
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Denzel Washington again moves from the actor’s chair to behind the lens in an upcoming adaptation of August Wilson’s award-winning play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, according to Deadline.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of Wilson’s most iconic works of art.
Washington’s Fences co-star Viola Davis and Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman round out the stellar cast which also includes, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo and Michael Potts.
The film will premiere on Netflix as part of a nine movie deal featuring Wilson’s work which was first initiated with HBO, but then moved to the streaming service. Production for the movie begins next month in Pittsburgh.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will profile the life of Ma “Queen of the Blues” Rainey, whose real name was Gertrude Pridgett. The play centers on Rainey during the process of producing a record and is set in 1920’s Chicago. Wilson named the play after one Rainey’s most famous songs.
The project marks the third time Washington and Davis will work together following Fences in 2016, and the 2010 Broadway adaptation where they played the lead roles. Davis secured a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the film and both won Tony awards for the 2010 revival.
The play first premiered on Broadway in 1984 and ran for 276 performances. The cast featured some of the most talented Black actors who still have an impact today including John Carpenter, Lou Criscuolo, Scott Davenport-Richards, Charles S. Dutton, Leonard Jackson, Robert Judd, Christopher Loomis, Aleta Mitchell, and Joe Senaca. A 2003 revival of the play starred Dutton and Whoopi Goldberg.