|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
Queen Latifah
starring in
'Bessie' May 16
2015-05-06
|
|
This article shared 3910 times since Wed May 6, 2015
|
|
HBO has confirmed the debut date for Bessie, with the HBO Films presentation scheduled to debut Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m. CT.
Starring Oscar nominee Queen Latifah ( Chicago ) in the title role, Bessie focuses on legendary blues singer Bessie Smith's transformation from a struggling young singer into "The Empress of the Blues."
The film also stars Michael Kenneth Williams as Bessie's husband, Jack Gee; Khandi Alexander as Bessie's older sister, Viola; Tory Kittles as Bessie's older brother, Clarence; Mike Epps as Richard, a bootlegger and romantic interest; Tika Sumpter as Lucille, a performer and romantic interest; Oliver Platt as photographer/writer Carl Van Vechten; Bryan Greenberg as record producer and music critic John Hammond; with Charles S. Dutton as Ma Rainey's husband, William "Pa" Rainey; and Oscar winner Mo'Nique as blues legend Ma Rainey.
Several sources have stated that Smith was bisexual. It is not known how much the film will delve into that aspect of the late singer's life. |
|
|
|
This article shared 3910 times since Wed May 6, 2015
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event 2024-03-25 Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...
|
| | WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21 It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21 Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...
|
| | RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir 2024-03-18 RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...
|
| | Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+ 2024-03-16 The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...
|
| | Oprah, Niecy Nash-Betts honored at GLAAD Media Awards 2024-03-15 Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts were honored at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards that took place in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton on March 14. Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, introduced by iconic Chicago ...
|
| | House-music festival on Aug. 30-Sept. 1; icons, Idris Elba to be part of it 2024-03-13 The ARC Music Festivalan event celebrating house musicwill take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Chicago's Union Park, per WGN-TV. This will mark the fourth year that the festival will celebrate the genre at Union Parkless than ...
|
| | Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians 2024-03-12 Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...
|
| | No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community 2024-03-12 Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08 Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...
|
| | Affinity Community Services' Latonya Maley announces departure 2024-03-06 Latonya Maley, executive director of Affinity Community Services, announced March 6 that she would be stepping down from her post. The announcement came from a statement with Affinity board members. Maley said that, "It has been ...
|
| | LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries 2024-03-06 From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...
|
| | Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05 Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...
|
| | THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05 Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...
|
| | Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap 2024-03-04 Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...
| |
|
|
|
|