Angelique Jackson Blitz Bazawule’s “The Color Purple” movie musical has found its Celie and Sofia in Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.Both actors reprise their respective roles from the stage musical, where Barrino made her Broadway debut in 2007 following her “American Idol” win, and Brooks earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in the 2015 revival.Barrino and Brooks’ casting was announced on Thursday as part of the ABC News special “Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising.” During the broadcast, “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis interviewed the women about reprising their roles for the film.The upcoming Warner Bros.
movie is an adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which is itself an adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
The production is directed by Bazawule, best known for his work on Beyoncé’s “Black Is King,” “The Burial of Kojo” and “Cherish the Day.” Marcus Gardley (“The Chi”) wrote the screenplay, based on Walker’s novel, the 1985 film and the stage musical (with a book by Marsha Norman and Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray’s score).
Oprah Winfrey made her feature acting debut as Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 version and is producing the new movie under her Harpo Films banner; Spielberg also returns to produce for his Amblin Entertainment.
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