Oscar winner H.E.R. will make her acting debut in Blitz Bazawule’s “The Color Purple movie musical.
The singer, who scored her first Academy Award for the song “Fight For You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah,” has been cast as “Squeak” in the latest adaptation of Alice Walker’s book.
Inspired by the Broadway musical version of Steven Spielberg’s film, the movie will also feature Corey Hawkins as Harpo Johnson.
H.E.R., real name Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, will tackle the character played by Rae Dawn Chong in the 1985 film.
Oprah Winfrey, who made her feature acting debut in Spielberg’s movie, is producing via her Harpo Films banner, alongside Spielberg and Quincy Jones.
In related news, Oprah has been recruited to help Broadway producers encourage fans to return to theaters when they re-open next month following the COVID shutdown.
The Great White Way’s venues have been closed since March, 2020, and now theater bosses are trying to generate interest in plays and musicals as part of the “This Is Broadway” campaign, which will launch on Monday.
It features a new video featuring archival footage of past and current Broadway shows and stars like Hugh Jackman, Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Sara Bareilles, narrated by Oprah.
The footage will appear on screens throughout New York City’s subway and bus stations, in taxis, and on a Times Square electronic cube.
It ends with Winfrey stating, “This is Broadway and we can’t wait to welcome you home.”