By Eddie J. Grant, Gleaner WriterToronto:
INTERNATIONALLY known Jamaican-born actress, Sheryl-Lee Ralph, will play the leading role in the upcoming television series, Da Kink In My Hair.
It will be an adaptation of the play of the same name which has had a successful run since debuting in 2001. The play has been attracting capacity audiences, and has had rave reviews. The series is due to be premiered this autumn on Toronto's Vision TV
SUPPORTING CAST.
Ralph will be joined by a supporting cast including Shakira Harper, Trey Anthony, Ngozi Paul, James Cordington, Richard Chevolleau, and Mimi Kuzyx.
At a press briefing held recently at Vision TV, cast members expressed their confidence that the series will duplicate the success of the play.
Da Kink In My Hair, a comedy drama, is written by Trey Anthony, who is also co-creator and associate producer. Anthony is a former producer for the Women's Television Network, and a writer for CTV and the Comedy Network. Da Kink In My Hair takes an intimate look into the lives of the hairstylists and patrons at Novelett's (Sheryl Lee Ralph's) hair salon on Eglinton Avenue West, a Caribbean neighbourhood in Toronto. She's a brash no-nonsense woman who lives above the salon. But the salon is more than just a hairstyling place. It acts as a community meeting place, where customers flock not only to get their hair done, but also to get Novelett's distinctive brand of conventional wisdom.
IMPRESSED
"When Tonya (Tonya Lee Williams) sent me the script to look at, I was so impressed with it. I returned it the following day and said, 'girlfriend I am in'," said Ralph.
The talented and very attractive actor, director, writer and producer also gave another reason for her excitement in starring in Da Kink In My Hair.
"As founder and producer of the Jamerican Film Festival staged annually in Jamaica," said Ralph, "I see this project as a result of that idea that as producer and filmmaker, we should all come together, build relationships and support each other in the entertainment industry."
Williams, the director of Da Kink In My Hair and a star on the soap opera, 'The Young and The Restless', is said to have only wanted Ralph to play the lead role in the TV show.
Ralph, whose extensive film credits include Sister Act II, The Mighty Quinn and the Flintstones, paid tribute to Vision TV for hosting a drama competition that allows plays like Da Kink In My Hair to showcase a diverse view of the community. Da Kink In My Hair was the winner of this first ever Vision TV Cultural Diversity Drama Competition.
"Canada has the potential today to produce some of the most diverse and entertaining drama in the world," she said.
