Halle Bailey.Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Halle Baileyhas her next movie musical lined up!
The Little Mermaidactress andChloe x Hallesinger, 21, has been tapped to portray Nettie inThe Color Purple, the upcoming film adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, based on theBroadwaymusical of the same name.
“The memory of her, the feeling of her, the strength of her comes through, even when you’re only hearing her voice from her letters,” added Winfrey, 68.
Bailey joinsa star-studded castincludingDanielle Brooksas Sofia andTaraji P. Hensonas Shug Avery.Fantasia Barrinowill lead as Celie, reprising the role from her previous Broadway run. The film will also featureH.E.R.andCorey Hawkins.
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Winfrey was part of several casting announcements Thursday night onSoul of a Nation, where she revealed Barrino, 37, would play Celie and Brooks would portray Sofia — a role which the latter previously received aTony Awardnomination for after starring in the show’s 2015 Broadway revival.
Brooks, 32, found her breakout onscreen role as Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in 2013 with Netflix’sOrange Is the New Black, and she can currently be seen starring alongsideJohn Cenain HBO Max’sPeacemaker.
Brooks recalled the moment she found out about her casting as Sofia. “They were saying, ‘Danielle, you have one more meeting with the director Blitz [Bazawule],’ and then, all of a sudden, this beautiful Black women in purple comes up on the screen and it’s MissOprah Winfrey,” she recounted.
“I am here, representing all things purple to tell you, you are our Sofia,” Winfrey told her in a clip from the call, during which Brooks was overjoyed.
RELATED VIDEO:The Color PurpleCast Surprises Superfan
The story ofThe Color Purplefollows the lives of several Black women — namely Celie and Nettie Harris, Shug Avery and Miss Millie — in the American South in the 1930s.
The original Broadway musical of the story debuted in 2005 and earned 11 Tony Award nominations a year later, with actressLaChanzewinning a Tony for her role as Celie.
Marcus Gardley has written the screenplay for the upcoming film, specifically adapted from the Tony-winning Broadway musical based on Walker’s novel that ran from 2005 to 2008, with a revival that ran from 2015 through early 2017.
source: people.com
