By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

Wondering if the rumors are true about LL Cool J ready to make his big Broadway debut?

Well, it could be possible.

While the spokesperson for the upcoming black-centric revival of Tennessee Williams's play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' fends off queries, 'The New York Post' says the chiseled-chest hip-hop superstar is in talks to play the hunky role that Paul Newman popularized via the 1958 movie adaptation of the prized property.

Though I hate to admit it, the Rupert Murdoch-owned daily tabloid is usually on point when it comes to tid-bits on The Great White Way.

The show in question has been all the buzz the past couple of weeks due to stories of the production possibly falling apart when Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker supposedly walked away from the lead role because another black actor was being considered.

A few names have also been attached to the proposed project, including Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Beyonce, Danny Glover and even Whitney Houston.

Julliard grad and red-hot thespian Anthony Mackie was initially slated to play "Brick,' reported the 'Post,' but also dropped out of the production. That's the role LL is said to be negotiating for.

To add to the frenzy, acclaimed 'Raisin in the Sun' director Kenny Leon -- now helming August Wilson's latest play 'Radio Golf' -- reportedly called it quits over conflicts of interests with the show's producers, said to be well-connected money movers.

What is really going on?

The BV Newswire has learned that the show is still on and looking to open in October.

Choreographer/Actress/Director Debbie Allen has been brought in to helm the play, with investment banker Stephen Byrd as the lead producer.

According to a spokesperson, Byrd has been associated with this project for the past ten years and recently secured the rights for this production well into 2008.

Sought after actress Thandie Newton ('Pursuit of Happyness') may follow in fellow British import Elizabeth Taylor's footsteps and take on the role of Maggie The Cat -- if her in-demand schedule demands, we hear.

Also, 'Dreamgirls' star Anika Noni Rose and Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. are reportedly attached to the revamped casting.

LL -- legally known as James Todd Smith -- has a career that spans over three decades (80s, 90s, 00s) and is one of the most successful rappers on the scene. One of the first to branch out into acting ('Toys'), the 39-year-old Long Island native is ever-evolving and has transcended the worlds of television, publishing, film and fashion.

Theater seems to be the obvious choice to elevate his professional portfolio.

If Diddy ('A Raisin in the Sun'), Russell Simmons ('Def Poetry'), Mos Def ('Topdog/Underdog') and Fantasia ('The Color Purple') can blaze trails on Broadway, hip-hops original superstar hunk surely can.