Oprah announces the star studded cast for film adaptation of The Color Purple musical
Exclusive: @Oprah Winfrey reveals the glorious cast-featuring Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks, and more-that will be bringing ‘The Color Purple’ from Broadway to the big screen. https://t.co/A3aH5bMOR4
- VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 4, 2022
• The film adaptation of The Color Purple musical has been in development since 2018, following the closure of the successful revival which ran from 2015-2017. The revival won two Tony awards (Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for Cynthia Erivo).
• The musical is based on Alice Walker's original novel and Steven Speilberg's 1985 film adaptation. Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Scott Sanders and Oprah are all producers on the new film which is set to be directed by Blitz Bazawule (director of Beyoncé's Black is King).
• Oprah announced the cast and said that filming is set to start next month in Georgia. She also posted a video surprising Danielle Brooks with the news that she would reprise the role of Sofia in the movie. Oprah played Sofia in the 1985 film, and Brooks played Sofia during the 2015 Broadway revival.
• Fantasia Taylor as Celie (Fantasia previously played Celie during the musical's original Broadway run from April 2007 to February 2008. She also reprised her performance during the 2010 national tour of the production).
• Colman Domingo as Mister
• Halle Bailey as Nettie
• Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery
• Corey Hawkins as Harpo
• H.E.R. as Squeak
• Danielle Brooks as Sofia (She previously played Sofia in the 2015 Broadway revival and was nominated for a Tony in the Best Featured Actress in a Musical category).
Sofia will always have my heart and I am ready to pass the purple baton on to the incredible @thedanieb who will bring her version to a new generation. See y’all at the movies when The Color Purple: The Musical hits theaters on December 20, 2023! pic.twitter.com/XkOh6b16Qu
- Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) February 4, 2022
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