Michelle Obama to Host White House Screening of THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, 2/24

According to The Hollywood Reporter, First Lady Michelle Obama will host a White House screening of Lifetime's adaptation of THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, starring Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams, on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. EST as part of Black History Month.

The event, taking place in the Eisenhower Office Building's South Court Auditorium, will feature remarks from Obama, and will be livestreamed at http://www.whitehouse.gov//live.

The Trip to Bountiful is a television adaptation of American playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote's Tony nominated play. Set during the final years of the Jim Crow South, the film follows one woman's quest to reconnect with her past in order to ensure her family's future. The Trip to Bountiful premieres Saturday, March 8th on the cable network.

In The Trip to Bountiful, Carrie Watts (Tyson, who was awarded with a Tony for her role in the Broadway revival), begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie (Underwood) and pretentious daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae (Williams). No longer able to drive and Forbidden to travel alone, she wishes for freedom from the confines of the house and begs her son to take her on a visit to her hometown of Bountiful. When he refuses, Mrs. Watts is undeterred and makes an escape to the local bus station, where she befriends Thelma (Palmer), a young woman traveling home. When Ludie and Jessie Mae discover she is gone, they call in law enforcement to help, but Mrs. Watts is one step ahead of them and convinces the local sheriff to help her on her journey home to Bountiful.

Produced by Ostar Productions, The Trip to Bountiful is executive produced by Bill Haber (Rizzoli & Isles), Cicely Tyson, HAllie Foote and Jeff Hayes (A Day Late and a Dollar Short).

Returning to Broadway for the first time in over 30 years in this production of The Trip to Bountiful, the legendaryCicely Tyson won every major theatre award of the season - the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award. The Trip to Bountiful also starred Emmy Award nominee and recording star Vanessa Williams, Tony Award Nominee Tom Wopat, rising star Adepero Oduye, and Leon Addison Brown.

Photo by Joan Marcus

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