Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier is about to be immortalized on Broadway as a play about his life is currently in the works.
According to Variety, “Sidney” will be written by Charles Randolph-Wright and directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
Poitier is best known for his movies “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “In the Heat of the Night.” He made history by becoming the first African American male to win an Oscar for best actor for his performance in “Lilies of the Field.”
After a brief time with the U.S. Army, Poitier moved to New York where he joined the American Negro Theater. Poitier directed several films, including “Buck and the Preacher” and “Stir Crazy.”
In 2009, then-President Barack Obama presented him the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, lauding him for “breaking racial barriers.”
“The first time I met Sidney Poitier was decades ago when he saw a show I co-wrote and directed in Los Angeles. We went to dinner and I literally could not speak. He said to me, ‘If in any way I have inspired you, you have more than paid me back with what I saw this evening.’ I have held onto those words my entire career,” Randolph-Wright said in a statement. “And now to place his astonishing life on stage is the ultimate challenge and the ultimate joy. To have the trust of Mr. Poitier and his family is one of the greatest gifts I have been given – what an honor to get to dramatize the true measure of this monumental man. I look forward to the world discovering the astounding person that is behind one of our most prodigious heroes, a man who continues to inspire.”
Casting and production updates to follow.
