The Trip to Bountiful: Cuba Gooding, Jr. joins cast

Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding, Jr ("Jerry Maguire") will make his Broadway debut in the upcoming Broadway revival of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, directed by Michael Wilson.

He will be joined by Emmy Award nominee and recording star Vanessa Williams ("Ugly Betty"), and Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad ('Stick Fly'), who will star along with the previously announced Cicely Tyson.

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The revival will open at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 23 Apr 2012, following previews from 31 Mar 2012, playing a 14-week limited engagement through to 7 Jul 2013.

The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of Carrie Watts (Tyson), an elderly woman who dreams of returning to her small hometown of Bountiful, TX one last time, against the wishes of her overprotective son (Gooding) and domineering daughter-in-law (Williams).

The show will be produced on Broadway by Nelle Nugent. The creative team includes set sets by Jeff Cowie, costumes by Van Broughton Ramsey, lighting by Rui Rita and sound by John Gromada.

The Trip to Bountiful premiered as a teleplay on NBC in 1953, starring Lillian Gish as 'Carrie Watts.' The play had its Broadway premiere later that year with the same cast, which also included Eva Marie Saint. The play was adapted by Foote into an acclaimed 1985 film starring Geraldine Page, for which she won the Academy Award. In 2005, Signature Theatre produced the play Off-Broadway starring Lois Smith, for which she won Lortel, Obie, Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards.

Bios:

Cuba Gooding, Jr is best known for his Oscar winning portrayal of "Rod Tidwell" in Cameron Crowe's "Jerry Maguire" (1996). He starred as "Tré Styles" in John Singleton's "Boyz in the Hood" (1991) which earned him ShoWest's Newcomer Award. Other major film credits include: "Men of Honor," "As Good as It Gets," "What Dreams May Come" and the Oscar-nominated "A Few Good Men," as well as "Pearl Harbor," "Radio," "Murder of Crows" (which he also co-produced), "American Gangster," "Shadowboxer" and this year's George Lucas-helmed "Red Tails."

Vanessa Williams has appeared on Broadway in 'Into the Woods' (Tony nomination), 'Kiss of the Spider-Woman' and 'Sondheim on Sondheim,' and Off-Broadway in 'St. Louis Woman' (Encores!). She is well-known for her three-time Emmy nominated performance as "Wilhemina Slater" in "Ugly Betty," as well as her roles as "Renee Perry" in "Desperate Housewives" and "Olivia Duran" in "666 Park Avenue." Her many film credits include "Soul Food," "Eraser," "Dance With Me," "Shaft" and "Hannah Montana: The Movie." She can be seen next in Tyler Perry's "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor." As a recording artist, she has been nominated for 11 Grammy awards and her many hits include "Save the Best For Last," "You Can't Run," "The Right Stuff," "Dreamin'," "Runnin' Back to You," "Save the Best for Last," "The Comfort Zone," "The Way That You Love," "Love Is," and Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz's Academy Award winning song "Colors of the Wind."

Condola Rashad received a 2012 Tony Nomination for her performance in 'Stick Fly,' produced by Alicia Keys and Nelle Nugent and directed by Kenny Leon. She starred as 'Sophie' in the Off-Broadway premiere of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize winning play, 'Ruined.' Her other theater credits include 'Tambourines To Glory' at the ALLIANCE THEATRE, directed by Kenny Leon, and 'Pearl' at the Kennedy Center, directed by Debbie Allen. Rashad's film and TV credits include "30 Beats" opposite Justin Kirk and Lee Pace, "Sex and the City 2," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," "Smash," "Georgetown" and "The Good Wife." Most recently she starred opposite Queen Latifah and Alfre Woodard in Lifetime's "Steel Magnolias."

Cicely Tyson is a stage, film and TV actress who is known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film "Sounder" and Emmy nominated roles in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" and "Roots." Tyson won an Emmy award for "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All," and was also nominated for Emmys for her roles in "King," "Hallmark Hall of Fame," "Sweet Justice," "A Lesson Before Dying" and "Relative Stranger." Tyson last appeared on Broadway in 1983 when she starred in 'The Corn Is Green.' Other Broadway credits include 'Trumpets of the Lord' (1969), 'Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights' (1968), 'A Hand Is on the Gate' (1966), 'Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright' (1962) and 'The Cool World' (1960).

Horton Foote's drama 'The Young Man From Atlanta.' won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and its Broadway production at the Longacre Theatre in 1997 was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. The playwright has been awarded two academy awards, the first for his adapation of "To Kill a Mocking Bird in 1962, and the latter for his screeen play "The Trip to Bountiful" in 1985, which was presented off-Broadway by the Signature Theatre Company in 2005. In 2008 his play 'Dividing the Estate' won a 2009 Tony Award Best Play and eaned his daughter 'Hallie Foot,'

Michael Wilson directed the Lincoln Center Theater's production of Horton Foote's 'The Carpetbagger's Children' in 2002 and Primary Stages production of Foote's 'The Day Emily Married' in 2004. Wilson's Broadway credits include Horton Foote's 'Dividing the Estate,' which won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play and earned the playwright's daughter 'Hallie Foot,' a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress. Othe Broadway credits include 'The Bast Man,' (2012), 'Old Acquaintance' (revival 2007),' 'Chtty Chitty Bang Bang' (2005), 'Enchanted April' (2003) and 'The Three Sisters' (revival 1997).