Magnolia Pictures has acquired the theatrical rights to Night Catches Us which was a hit with critics and audience members at this years Sundance Film Festival. The film which re-units co-stars Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington (they both worked together on the film She Hate Me almost six years ago together) and also stars Jamie Hector and Wendell Pierce.

Set on the steamy streets of Philadelphia during the summer of 1976, the film which marks filmmaker Tanya Hamilton’s debut, follows Marcus Washington (Mackie), an ex-Black Panther who returns home to confront his past which includes Patricia Wilson (Washington). The romantic drama deals with real issues during a politically complex and emo

2010 Tony nominee David Alan Grier and film star Kerry Washington will play their final performance in the Broadway production of David Mamet’s Race on June 13, while Emmy winner James Spader will depart the cast following the June 20 performance.

The play, directed by Mamet, has also announced that it will now close at the Barrymore Theatre on Saturday, August 21, rather than the previously reported August 23. The current cast also features Richard Thomas. Replacement casting will be announced at a later date.

In the play, three attorneys, two black and one white, are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman.

The production features sets by Santo Loquasto, lighting design by Brian Macdevitt, and costumes by Tom Broecker. As recently reported, the play recouped its investment.

From Theater Mania

The Broadway run of David Mamet’s Race, starring James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas, has been extended to Aug. 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

The playwright directed the world-premiere production that opened on Broadway Dec. 6 and was originally scheduled to close June 13. Producers announced April 21 that the production had recouped its entire $2.5 million investment.

According to producers, “three attorneys, two black and one white, are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman.”

Mamet elaborated on the plot in an interview with the New York Times. “In my play a firm made up of three lawyers, two black and one white, is offered the chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black young woman. It is a play about lies. All drama is about lies. When the lie is exposed, the play is over.”

From Playbill

Tony Award winners Anika Noni Rose and Michael Cerveris will co-host the 55th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards.

The awards, which celebrate the 2009-2010 Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway seasons, will be held May 17 at Webster Hall in Manhattan.

Presenters for the evening will include J. Smith Cameron, Viola Davis, Marin Ireland, Linda Lavin, Sam Rockwell, Michael Shannon, Kerry Washington and Jennifer Westfeldt.

The Obie Awards were created in 1955 by Jerry Tallmer. Past recipients include Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, William Hurt, Morgan Freeman, Mos Def, Amy Irving, Kevin Kline, Nathan Lane, Olympia Dukakis, Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Kathy Bates, James Earl Jones, Felicity Huffman and Harvey Fierstein, among others.

For the first time ever, tickets, priced $25, will be available to the general public. For more information visit http://obies.villagevoice.com/2010.

From

Black Voices has learned that writer/director/producer Tyler Perry has selected the cast for next film, ”For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. ‘

At last night’s premiere for his latest film, ‘ ‘Why Did I Get Married Too? ,’ the black box-office maverick revealed that the cast will include Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington , Loretta Devine and Macy Gray .

Based on Ntozake Shange ‘s award-winning 1975 play, the film is scheduled to shoot in June in New York with a possible winter 2010/ 2011 release date The riveting play, consisting of a series of poems performed through a cast of nameless women, known only by a color — deal with such subjects as love, abandonment, rape, and abortion, garnered much acclaim, becoming the toast of Broadway when it opened at The Booth Theater in 1976.

It later morphed into an Emmy Award nominated television special and is still being performed around the world.

Elise and Carey are the only two that made the cut from Perry’s initial wish list that he mentioned back in September 2009 , which initially included 16-time Grammy Award winner Beyonce Knowles, Academy Award winner Halle Berry and media queen Oprah Winfrey.

“Making a film of ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf’ is a dream come true for me,” Perry said about the project. “Ntozake Shange’s play is a magnificent tribute to the strength and dignity of women of color, and I think audiences of all generations will be able to recognize and embrace the experiences these women represent. Creatively, this movie is one of the most exciting undertakings of my career.”

As previously reported by Black Voices, ‘For Colored Girls’ will be the first project for 34th Street Films, Perry’s new production company, which is housed at Lionsgate.