Actually, the iconic character isn’t just living! She’s thriving — if the receipts from the national theater tour of Madea’s Happy Family is any indication. The public has exemplified an unquestionably ravenous appetite for the acid-tongued, gun-toting motherly figure who helps solve familial strife.
As such, the Rare nightclub in Midtown Atlanta was bulging at the seams for the wrap party for Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family.
Perry and executive vice president-producer Roger Bobb always facilitate a party for the cast and crew at the conclusion of TPS movies and at the end of the seasons for their TV shows Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.
Lionsgate was smart, if not fiscally pragmatic. They saw fit to partner with Perry to turn the overwhelmingly successful theater tour of Madea’s Happy Family — which quickly sold out in every single city it visited across the country — into a major motion picture.
Perry also got a fortuitous bounce of fate when Old Spice pitchman sensation Isaiah Mustafa exploded into the public‘s consciousness just as Perry was working on Madea‘s Big Happy Family. Perry quickly scooped up the services of the charismatic Mustafa to play the lead role in the film.
Roger Bobb says the studio heads are not concerned with detractors, especially prominent ones like Spike Lee and Boondocks Aaron McGruder, who have slung verbal darts and nails at Tyler Perry Studios in recent months. If anything, the hate provided additional fuel for the tank.
Bobb says Madea isn’t going anywhere soon.
“We just wrapped our 11th film, Madea’s Big Happy Family. Madea is alive and well and entertaining people all over the world. And look … we know that Madea is not for everybody. And God bless you all,“ Bobb says. “But for the ones that love Madea, we’re going to keep bringing him out. So as long as you support us, we’ll support you.”
And for those of you who love Madea, and there is ample evidence that millions do, you‘ll be able to support Madea at a theater near you. — terry shropshire
