Categories: News

Watch the first clip of Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in the teaser trailer for RESPECT

There was no one quite like The Queen of Soul.

Aretha Franklin’s influence on the music industry is completely undeniable. A renowned performer, her songs have concreted their place in the book of greats for decades to come. Now, her life is being adapted into a feature film – Respect.

Jennifer Hudson

Taking on Aretha will be Jennifer Hudson, an acclaimed performer in her own right. After competing on American Idol, Jennifer made her film debut as Effie White in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, winning her Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG awards for Best Supporting Actress. She made her Broadway Debut as Shug Avery in The Color Purple in 2015, and has also starred in Hairspray Live as Motormouth Maybelle, and the newly released Cats film as Grizabella.

The film will also feature some familiar Broadway names, such as Audra McDonald, Saycon Sengbloh, Hayley Kilgore, and Tituss Burgess. The remaining cast includes Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Mary J. Blige, Marc Maron, Tate Donovan, Kimberley Scott, and Lodric D. Collins.

Check out the first teaser for Respect below.

 

Gabi Bergman

Gabi Bergman (she/her) is a Melbourne-based performer and educator, and the current Deputy Editor-in-Chief of AussieTheatre.com. She holds a double degree in Theatre Studies and Film/Screen Studies, along with a Master of Teaching (Secondary Education). A passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in the arts, Gabi brings her deep love of storytelling to the stage, the page, and the classroom. A lifelong lover of theatre, she spends more on tickets than she’d like to admit. Her most prized possession is her ever-growing collection of theatre programs.

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