Earlier this month it was revealed that Queen Latifah was producing and starring in a biopic about Blue legend Bessie Smith for HBO [click here if you missed that].
Academy Award winning actress Monique and Khandi Alexander have just been added to the cast…
According Deadline Monique has been cast as iconic blues singer Ma Rainey and Khandi Alexander as Bessie Smith's older sister Viola.
Popular Blues lore claims Ma Rainey kidnapped younger singer Bessie Smith and forced her join the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a variety troupe that toured the South between 1900 and the 1950s.
