‘The Color Purple’ Musical Film Cast Includes Halle Bailey as Nettie [Video]

Halle Bailey, half of the Grammy-nominated R&B duo Chloe X Halle, is starring in the musical film “The Color Purple.” The 21-year-old is playing Nettie in this adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. She was among the cast members Oprah Winfrey recently announced.

Joining Bailey next month in Georgia when filming begins are; H.E.R. as Squeak; Corey Hawkins as Harpo; Danielle Brooks as Sofia; Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery; Colman Domingo as Mister; and Fantasia (Taylor) Barrino as Celie. “The Color Purple” will change their lives, as Winfrey says it did hers. “I don’t know anybody who’s ever been associated with is whose life didn’t get enhanced.”

Walker’s words were grounded in the love of community and of the characters, Winfrey tells Vanity Fair. Everything comes from the original words of the novel. She adds, “I can’t wait to see this next evolvement, which is not attached to having done it the we’ve always done it.”

Singer-songwriter Barrino is reprising her role as Celie on Broadway in 2007. The story centers around Barrino’s character’s life and her struggles as a Black woman living in the South in the early 1900s.

Winfrey warns fans not to expect Whoopi Goldberg’s Celie from the original adaptation. “This ain’t your mama’s Color Purple,” is her description of the upcoming film which is currently in pre-production and expected to be released on Dec. 20, 2023.

The musical adaptation is being directed by filmmaker and Ghanaian hip-hop artist Blitz “the Ambassador” Bazawule. Alice Walker is one of the seven executive producers listed on IMDb. Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Scott Sanders, and Steven Spielberg are the musical’s producers.

Written by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

The Hollywood Reporter: Fantasia Barrino to Star in ‘The Color Purple’ Movie Musical; by Mia Galuppo
Vanity Fair: Oprah Winfrey Reveals the Glorious Cast of The Color Purple Musical Film; by Anthony Breznican
Teen Vogue: Halle Bailey and H.E.R. Cast in “The Color Purple” Musical Film; by Natasha Mulenga
CNN: Fantasia Taylor and Danielle Brooks to star in new ‘The Color Purple’ musical movie; by Toyin Owoseje

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