 After the original stage production proved successful, the film  version went through several incarnations. In the late 1980s  Whitney Houston (qv) was considered for the role of Deena, but  negotiations fell through when Houston insisted that Deena sing some  of Effies songs, specifically, "And I Am Telling You Im Not  Going", as well. In the early 1990s, after the success of  _Whats Love Got to Do with It (1993)_ (qv), Joel Schumacher (qv)  was set to direct, with Lauryn Hill (qv) set to play Deena and  Kelly Price (I) (qv) to play Effie. However, after the box