Filed under: News, Theater, Star Quotes
Tyler Perry's position as Forbes' sixth highest paid man in Hollywood is a distinction that certainly takes hard work. The 41 year-old New Orleans native is known to be a workaholic and his exhaustion has finally reared it's ugly head. The box-office kingpin has decided to take a break, sort of.
Perry recently explained that he's decided to cancel some dates of the encore leg of his highly-successful stage play 'Madea's Big Happy Family.'
"You have no idea how hard this is for me to do, but I wanted you to hear it from me first," he wrote in an open letter to his fans via his website.
"After 125 performances in 126 days last spring, and doing two movies back-to-back this summer, then coming right back on tour and doing another 30 performances in as many days, it's all become too much. I'm truly so exhausted. "
He added, "I am so sorry but I am starting to realize that I am human and I have to know when to slow down. Again, I am so sorry. I feel like I've let you down.
Starting Oct.19, some dates of the tour will be canceled and 'Madea' fans, who already purchased tickets, will be given the full refund of the ticket at their point of purchase.
BlackVoices.com caught up to actor Lance Gross, who stars on Perry's hit TBS sitcom 'House of Payne,' about the recent decision to wrap the 'Madea' run and he said he completely understands the need for his television show boss to take some time off.
"I feel him. I understand. That's work and he does that while he's shooting films and 'Meet the Browns' so I get it and I was waiting for him to be like, 'Man, I'm tired,'" Gross said while promoting Toyota's Green Initiative at Bowie State University on today.
It's still not confirmed but 'House of Payne' will shoot 40 new episodes mid-November or the beginning of January 2011.
Gross maintained, "Even though he canceled the tour, he's still going to be working...they had a good run, a lot of people saw it and people love it and he's actually turning that into a movie. People aren't going to really miss out they will be able to see it [that way] if they haven't already."
Perry, in his letter, expressed his sadness with the decision. "I feel terrible about this and hope you can understand but right now I'm not capable of giving you the show you want and deserve. I hope one day soon I will be able to make it up to you."
Close to 750,000 fans have seen the show since its start Jan. 5, 2010. It marked Perry's first national stage tour in five years, something he felt he needed to help with adjusting to his mother's recent passing.
"With me dealing with so much personal grief after the loss of my mother, it could not have come at a better time. You all helped me through it and feeling the love and support of the people who started it all was just what I needed. I felt it and I still do," he said.
Perry thanked fans for the experience, which he called "one of the most special tours I've ever had."
The feature film adaptation of 'Madea's Big Happy Family' is already in the can and Perry is also a producer on the upcoming comedy 'We The Peeples,' which stars Kerry Washington and David Alan Grier.
As previously reported, Perry's latest film, 'For Colored Girls,' an adaptation of Ntozake Shange's 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf,' will get its nationwide theatrical release on Nov. 5. He's bound to show up at a few press dates to promote that.
And he also just signed on to star in the upcoming film, 'Take My Wife,' alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
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Six Degrees of Tyler Perry
Six Degrees of Tyler Perry
In just three years, Tyler Perry has become the toast of Hollywood. Could you name another director black or white who can boast of having released six feature movie projects within a three year period? Nope. Not only did the New Orleans native write all of the storylines for the films, he starred in four. Combined, five of the films have grossed upwards of $250 million worldwide, some within budgets below $6 million. And with the major money train also comes associating with some of the biggest names in and out of the entertainment business. BlackVoices.com takes an introspective look at how a former homeless man turned chit'lin circuit theater czar has connections to the likes of Michael Jackson, Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston and Will Smith, to name a few. Check out Six Degrees of Tyler Perry.
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