NEWS EXCLUSIVE: QUEEN LATIFAH CONSIDERING BROADWAY DEBUT

Award-winning singer and actress Queen Latifah is seriously considering making her long-awaited Broadway debut, she told TheaterMania in an exclusive interview shortly before hosting Monday night’s Fidelity FutureStage Finale at the Imperial Theatre.

“I’ve actually been talking about that. It’s one of the last things I have to conquer in my career,” says Latifah, who earned an Oscar nomination for playing Mama Morton in the film version of Chicago and played Motormouth Maybelle in the film version of Hairspray. “I respect Broadway, and I respect those who are performers on Broadway. I realize that there’s a lot of work that goes into it and a big commitment. So for me, it’s about having a project that is special enough to me to want to do it and to want to work that hard and to want to really commit myself to it. When I go to work I usually don’t feel like it’s work, because I love what I do, so I have to have something that I love enough that it doesn’t feel like work at all.”

As for whether she has a preference for musicals over straight plays — Latifah won a Golden Globe Award for her dramatic work in the television movie Life Support — the actress says she’s totally open-minded. “Obviously musicals are fun, but they’re definitely a lot harder,” she says with a laugh. “So whether I have to do something dramatic and be emotional everyday or whether I have to dance and sing, it wouldn’t matter to me.”