Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Tony Award-nominee and A Raisin in the Sun actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson recently participated in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Tony Actress Roundtable” moderated by THR’s Scott Feinberg. The taped discussion features Jackson along with the five other Tony nominees—Tyne Daly, Sutton Foster, Idina Menzel, Jessie Mueller and Kelli O’Hara—as they dish about their careers and their current work on Broadway.
Jackson, the wife of movie actor Samuel L. Jackson, recalls the day she received the call from Raisin director Kenny Leon asking her to take on the role of Lena “Mama” Younger. The part was supposed to be portrayed by TV and film actress, Diahann Carroll. However, the 78-year-old screen legend was not able to compete with the show’s rigorous rehearsal schedule. Jackson was more than happy to oblige.
Check out her interesting story beginning at 22:37 of the video. She also goes on to talk about the brilliance of the show’s iconic writer, Lorraine Hansberry.
[youtube id=”mXapHD-4mBw” width=”600″ height=”350″]
The Tony Awards air this Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Photo Credit: newyorkcitytheatre.com
