Cassi Davis Talks Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Neighbors from Hell (The Play)Posted by Wilson Morales
April 21, 2014
Out on DVD (plus Digital Ultraviolet), Digital HD, Video On Demand and Pay-Per-View April 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Neighbors From Hell (The Play), starring Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, Wess Morgan, Rhonda Davis, David Stewart, Alexis Hollins, Dathan Thigpen, and Chelsea Reynolds.
The play pits no nonsense matriarch Madea and feisty neighborhood know-it-all Aunt Bam up against some troubled new neighbors.
When a new family moves in next door to Madea, all seems well – cute kids, loving mother. The trouble begins when social workers start showing up AND then Madea’s house is broken into. That’s when all hell breaks loose. In true Madea fashion, a big mess is cleared up using tough love and Southern mama sensibilities.
For Davis, who’s play Aunt Bam, it’s a return to the stage and character she was known for prior to taking on the role of as Ella Payne on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne for TNT. Having worked with Perry on numerous, the Mississippi native played Aunt Bam in about three stage shows and on the films Madea’s Family Reunion and Madea Goes to Jail.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Davis talks about playing Aunt Bam once again and working with Tyler Perry.
How would you describe Aunt Bam in this particular play?
Cassi Davis: In this rendition, I think she is the catalyst for everything that happens. She notices the plot or she notices the plan and she really is the neighbor from hell. She’s nosey, sits on her porch, and sheds life on what’s there. You know how you have those older people who are just in the neighborhood, and if something is not the norm, they just bring attention to it. They just ask questions and in asking those questions, they find out so many things and nine times out of ten, old people already know. It’s just that wisdom that they have.
What’s it like to revisit the character?
CD: I love her.I just love her. She’s just so free and fun. Every adventure is just that; an adventure. Every time I approach the character, I look at Mr. Perry and say, “Whoa! You want her to do that. She does that too? Okay”
Have you ever been in a situation where you had unruly neighbors?
CD: No, but when I was younger and living in Mississippi, my mom was a schoolteacher and my dad taught at a college. They were gone for the day and we were on Spring Break and I was about 11 or so, and at the time, I had two brothers who were working. The older one was working and the younger one I had sent on a bike road. I had invited my boyfriend to come over. We weren’t doing anything but watching TV, soap operas and eating popcorn. I was trying to act like we were married and the neighbor up the street called my dad and told him that a boy came over to the house. My dad came home and stayed til 11 o’clock and I had to put the boy in the closet. So, I didn’t have a neighbor from hell, but I had one that was nosey from hell. In the neighborhood we I live now, all of us are just friendly. Even if they go in their house and dog me out, when they come out, it’s all, “Hi Cassi, everything good?” and I’m like, “Everything’s great.”
How was working with this cast?
CD: This particular cast was the sweetest because they were so eager. Wess Morgan had worked with Tyler Perry before and I was the other one, but everyone else was new and green. Mr. Perry usually allows us to put the play up in the theater and it was a great time for me to bond with the people and just help them get to their place. Some of them you have to say, “Excuse me, you can’t turn your back to the audience. They have to see your face when you are talking.” All these things he didn’t have to handle. They were so green and eager and ready and willing to just get in there and run with it. It was really a wonderful cast. I loved all the cast that I have ever worked with because we are all so grateful to work. Sometime you have those who are standoffish and hesitant at first, but by the you get in there and you get it rolling and everyone loosens up and you see, “Okay, you’re not a diva and you’re not trying to be better than me,” and they see that the set is a relaxed environment, you just want to your best for the material; especially for the people who are coming to see it. Because they were new, we made them feel comfortable. It’s okay to make a mistake because nothing is set in stone. By the time we hit opening night, you will be good. I enjoyed them.
How is working with Tyler Perry on stage and behind the scenes?
CD: Whether it’s on stage or behind the scenes, it is just a treat for me. Tyler is just so funny. I think I alleviate a whole lot of problems because I respect him so much. It’s not gig and it’s not my show, and whatever I try to portray, if I can please him, it fits in with what he actually wants for the piece. Whether it’s TV or film or the plays, and with the plays he allows me to more free than with television and film. I love him best on stage when I’m in a play with him because Madea is so funny. I can see Tyler in all of that Madea outfit and looking at me and we are laughing like it’s Tyler and Cassi. It’s just a good time every time he and I work together. From one point it was from ’05 to ’11 and it was every project he was doing. He was like “Cass, I need you for this” or “Cass, I want you for this.” It’s been a great run for me from the day I met him. Actually, not from the day I met. I started working with him two and a half years after that. When I first met him, I was like, “Man in a dress. I’m not doing that” and for 2 1/2 years, he hounded me. I sent me DVDs and I didn’t have a DVD player so I them back to him. I kept calling. He was doing “Madea’s Class Reunion” and he sent me tickets and wanted me to come. I went to the show and still said I didn’t want to be of this. I didn’t think it would be fun for me until one of my friends told me otherwise and to call him to tell him yes. That was in ’04 and I got with him in ’05 and I have been sailing ever since.
What’s next?
CD: I’m actually forming my own projects for the state of Mississippi. I’m from that state and I have a heart for the children there. As a tribute to my dad, I don’t live there because he wanted me to make it out from there but I do want to come back and shed some light on the children there and just give an opportunity to just come away. I formed a company Magnolia Youth Summit and I go to Mississippi and have kids write essays to me and for me about the state of Mississippi and I judge the essays and I will take them on tours and trips. This is my first time doing this. I want them to fly somewhere and get ample identification. I want them to get exposure outside of the fingertips and facebooking. I want them to get off a plane and see that the same stores that are in other states are the same ones they see back home. My goal is to rally those children, enlighten them, and enhance what they are already learning in school.
