Feature Film Version of For Colored Girls On Tap

A new feature film version of Ntozake Shange’s 1976 play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf is in the works from Lionsgate, according to Variety. Music video director Nzingha Stewart will direct the film from her own screenplay adaptation. No casting or start date has been announced.

Originally described as “a choreopoem in which a black woman explores inner space in seven facets of herself, with poetry, dance and stories,” For Colored Girls opened at the Public Theater on May 17, 1976, and transferred to Broadway’s Booth Theatre on September 10, running until July 16, 1978. It was nominated for a 1977 Best Play Tony Award and earned a featured actress Tony for star Trazana Beverley. The PBS American Playhouse series broadcast the play in 1982 with a cast that included Beverley, Alfre Woodard and Lynn Whitfield.

Whoopi Goldberg had announced plans to produce a Broadway revival of For Colored Girls in August 2008 starring Indie.Arie, but the production was postponed after a key backer withdrew support.

In announcing the forthcoming film, Lionsgate emphasized its “leadership role in producing and distributing a diverse roster of motion pictures about black characters.” The popular films of Tyler Perry are part of the studio’s slate.