Taraji P. Hensonis joining Corey Hawkins and H.E.R inThe Color Purple, Warner Bros. upcoming adaptation of the Broadway musical.
Based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker,The Color Purplefollows the story of Celie Harris, an African-American woman living in the American south during the early to the mid-20th century. The upcoming film is anadaptation of the musical versionofThe Color Purple, which was also the basis for the 1985 film of the same name from Steven Spielberg. The project will be helmed by Blitz Bazawule, who recently directed Beyonce’sBlack is Kingfor Disney+.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Henson will be playing Shug Avery, a blues singer who is notorious for being a “loose woman” in the town in which the story is set. H.E.R will be playing Squeak, a character in the musical who goes from a waitress to an aspiring singer.
Henson Will Play a Waitress Who Dreams of Being a Singer
Henson may be best known for her role as Cookie Lyon in Fox’s Empire. Her recent projects includeProud Mary,What Men Want,The Best of Frenemies, andHidden Figures. In 2008, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance inThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonco-starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Her upcoming projects include a voice role inMinions: The Rise of Gru.
The musical had its premiere in Atlanta in 2004 before moving to Broadway in 2005. While it did have a successful three-year run, it may have been the Broadway revival that really brought a ton of attention to the musical. The revival began in 2015 and featured Jennifer Hudson, Danielle Brooks, and Cynthia Erivo. Erivo won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical while the revival itself won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
The 1985 film from Spielberg was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It starred Whoopi Goldberg as Celie and featured the acting debut of Oprah Winfrey who did get nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Winfrey co-produced the musical adaptation ofThe Color Purpleand is teaming up with Spielberg to produce this movie-musical adaptation via Winfrey’s Harpo Films banner andSpielberg’s Amblin Entertainment Company.
Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay for the upcoming adaptation, based on the book by Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. Executive producing the film are Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Adam Fell, and Mara Jacobs.
