Tyson Chandler And Wife Join ‘The Trip To Bountiful’ Production Team

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler and his wife Kimberly have joined the production team of The Trip to Bountiful.

“Kimberly and I are very excited to join the producing team behind this landmark production of the American classic, The Trip To Bountiful,” the 30-year-old All Star said in a press release.

His wife of eight years aded, “Tyson and I were extremely moved by the play and its message of honoring one’s history, heritage, and home. And to have Mr. [Horton] Foote’s work brought to life by these exceptional actors – Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams, and the legendary Cicely Tyson – is something everyone should experience.”

The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of Carrie Watts (Tyson), a widow living in a cramped apartment with her son Ludie (Gooding) and daughter-in-law Jessie Mae (Williams) in Houston in the spring of 1953. Carrie dreams of returning to her hometown of Bountiful, but knows Ludie and Jessie Mae won’t let her travel alone. Carrie, however, is determined to return to her childhood home.

The play marks Tyson’s return to Broadway after three decades away from the stage. Her last appearance was as Miss Moffat in The Corn is Green in 1983. The Broadway adaptation is also a departure from previous versions,which were comprised of all-white casts.

The original, which premiered as a teleplay on March 1, 1953 on NBC and starred Lillian Gish and Eva Marie Saint, who reprised their roles on Broadway later that year. The 1985 film version starred Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. Page won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Carrie Watts, and the film was also nominated for Best Writing for a Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

The Trip to Bountiful opens April 23 and runs through June 30 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

[Photo credit: scott mecum / Flickr.com]