HEADS UP: Kasi Lemmons 'Black Nativity' Trailer Drops (Langston Hughes' Remake)
Black Nativity is an upcoming drama musical film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons. The film is set to be released on November 27, 2013. The film stars Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Jacob Latimore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Nas.
A street-wise teen from Baltimore, raised by a single mother, travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives and embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey.
Black Nativity is based on a Broadway Gospel musical by Langston Hughes, and is a retelling of the classic Nativity story with an entirely black cast. The show was first performed Off-Broadway on December 11, 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an African-American to be staged there.
A performance of this musical has taken place every Christmas season since 1998 in Seattle, first at the Intiman Theater and currently at the Moore Theater.
In 2004, a documentary film was made about the world premiere performance, production, and creation of the best-selling gospel Christmas album Black Nativity – In Concert: A Gospel Celebration, and the original cast, under the direction of Aaron Robinson that brought it to life at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Portland, Maine.
The 2013 film features a score by Terrence Blanchard and songs written by Raphael Saadiq.
Will you be in the theater on November 27th?
