Aretha confirmed Jennifer Hudson was one name suggested for her role in a musical production based on her life.
- Mar 14, 2007
AceShowbiz - Her big winning in various award events, including Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA among others, makes it possible for Jennifer Hudson to be the next Aretha Franklin. Taking into account her "instant" success, the Dreamgirl is the one among names suggested for the role of the soul singer in a musical production based on her life.
Confirmed to Access Hollywood that she has already been approached by several studios who want to take her autobiography and put it on the big screen, Aretha is yet sure if Hudson is the one taking on her role, saying "Well, I don't know. I'm not sure. The producers want to know how I feel about it, about her playing myself. What I'd like to see is three different people playing myself."
The planned musical production is already in the works and auditions set to happen May later this year in Detroit, with the star involved in the casting process, choosing the performers that will play "key members" from her family and her close friends and associates including Sam Cooke and Dinah Washington. Candidates vying for the role might not need to have Aretha's vocal prowess.
Auditions for "Aretha From These Roots" will be held from 1-7 p.m. daily, May 1-3 at the Holiday Inn Express (formerly Hawthorne Suites) 25100 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield. The musical would premiere in Detroit, then tour nationally.
The musical, "Aretha: From These Roots," is based in part upon her 1999 autobiography of the same name and will document Aretha's life from her early girlhood and musical life, starting at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, where her famous father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, presided. "From These Roots" also will show how Aretha's vocal gifts took her into the volatile world of the music business, trace her brief marriage to Ted White and show how she raised her sons as a single mother.
