Devil in a Blue Dress, the 1995 noir film starring Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle based on the novel by Walter Mosley, is being adapted as a stage musical by Mosley and composer/jazz musician Branford Marsalis, the novelist has said, according to The New York Post's "Page Six." Mosley dropped the news while promoting his new book Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore.
In Devil in a Blue Dress, the only one of Mosley's 10 "Easy" Rawlins novels that has been made into a film, Washington played Rawlins, the L.A. detective who remains the novelist's most popular character. There's no word on whether Washington, Cheadle or anyone else from the cast of the Carl Franklin film, which also featured Tom Sizemore and Jennifer Beals, would appear in a stage production.
Washington has expressed interest in returning to the stage periodically. He most recently starred in Kenny Leon's recent well-received revival of A Raisin in the Sun.
Washington Square Films also attaches Eisa Davis's (Passing Strange) name to Devil in a Blue Dress.
Mosley's play Lift is scheduled to receive its New York premiere this October as part of 59E59's 5A Season. His other plays include The Fall of Heaven, Leading from the Affair and White Lilies. Devil would be the first musical adaptation of a Mosley work.
No production schedule has been announced for Devil in a Blue Dress, but the participation of Branford Marsalis seems likely to boost its chances at getting the backing necessary for a full regional or Off-Broadway production in preparation for a run at Broadway.
