First Look: Tyler Perry’s Netflix Period Drama ‘A Jazzman’s Blues’
Tyler Perry’s upcoming movie A Jazzman’s Blues is different from what fans are used to seeing from the film and TV mogul.
The writer/director’s new coming-of-age period drama stars actors Joshua Boone and Solea Pfiffer as star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne, whose forbidden love is set in the backdrop of the deep South during the 1940s.
"I wrote it in 1995. It was the first screenplay I ever wrote," Perry told PEOPLE. "The two characters are just trying to find their own way in the world. Initially, I wanted to play the lead role of Bayou, but that was 1995 — I aged out."
Additionally, Perry says that he’s in a different time of his life than when he wrote the original script almost three decades ago. "I was in Atlanta struggling to make it,” he added. “I was hungry, sleeping on my cousin's couch, eventually getting put out and being homeless. I was trying to get my first play off the ground, and this screenplay just poured out of me. I held onto it for all of these years."
A Jazzman’s Blues also stars Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold. It’s slated for a September 23 release via Netflix.
See the exclusive first-look photos below:
