Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson & Blair Underwood Will Bring The Trip to Bountiful to the L.A. Stage

A family reunion out west! According to the Los Angeles Times, Vanessa Williams and Cicely Tyson will reprise their performances as Jessie Mae Watts and Carrie Watts, respectively, in the L.A. production of Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful at the Ahmanson Theatre. Williams, who is currently heating up the Cotton Club stage in Broadway’s After Midnight, and Tyson, who won a Tony award for her performance in the Broadway revival, are joined by Blair Underwood, who will portray Ludie (a role played in New York by Cuba Gooding Jr.). The three take the stage after appearing in the Lifetime television remake of the play earlier this year. Directed by Michael Wilson, the production will begin performances on September 17.

Williams received a Tony nomination for her performance in Into the Woods; she has also appeared on Broadway in Kiss of the Spider-Woman and Sondheim on Sondheim. Tyson was the first African American to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress after appearing in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and received an Oscar nod for the film Sounder. Underwood, known for his performance on the T.V hit L.A. Law, has appeared on stage in A Streetcar Named Desire, Purlie and Measure for Measure.

The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of Carrie (Tyson), an elderly woman who longs to return to her hometown of Bountiful, Texas, one final time, but must battle with an overprotective son (Underwood) and domineering mother-in-law (Williams). The revival, helmed by Wilson, opened on Broadway in April 2013.