There's just no stopping Halle Bailey’s rising star. The 21-year-old singer, who is part of the Grammy-nominated duo Chloe x Halle, is currently acting in the fourth season of Freeform's Grown-ish and is the star of the upcoming live-action adaption of The Little Mermaid. Now, she's adding another credit to her acting résumé: The Color Purple.
On February 3, Vanity Fair officially announced that the “Do It” singer would be joining an all-star cast in the musical film adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 classic novel, The Color Purple. Halle will be taking on the role of Nettie, Celie's younger sister who desperately flees from their abusive household.
Oprah Winfrey, who portrayed Sofia in Steven Spielberg's classic 1985 film adaptation of the novel, serves as a producer of the new musical adaptation. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Oprah explained the sheer importance of Nettie's role in the story: “She’s somebody whose presence you can feel in her absence—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."
Halle took to Instagram to share her casting announcement in a post on Thursday evening. “Feeling oh so grateful to be apart of this historic film as Nettie,” she wrote with smiling and heart emojis. “Thank you God."
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Alongside Halle Bailey, four-time Grammy award-winning singer H.E.R. is set to make her acting debut, taking on the role of Squeak. “I was so nervous about it, I’m not going to lie,” H.E.R. told POPSUGAR back in January. “Because The Color Purple is such a big film and I really want to show up and do my thing. But I’m just thankful for the opportunity. I think it’s going to be fun.” It has also been rumored that H.E.R. is working with the film's creative team to write and perform a new original song for the film.
Rounding out the cast are multi-talented performers such as singer Fantasia Barrino, who is reprising her 2007 Broadway role as Celie, Orange Is the New Black star Danielle Brooks as Sofia, actor Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, In the Heights' Corey Hawkins as Harpo, and Euphoria star Colman Domingo as Mister.
Based in the early 20th century, The Color Purple tells the coming-of-age story of Celie, a young Black woman living in the rural South. The story follows Celie and the other Black women who surround her as they try to survive and navigate the journey of life despite its horrendous cruelties. A staple of American literature and film, The Color Purple has been previously adapted for film, the stage, and radio.
Alongside Oprah, other producers of the film include Scott Sanders, the producer of the 2005 original Broadway musical, Steven Spielberg, the director of the 1985 film, and Quincy Jones, the legendary producer and composer of the 1985 film's Oscar-nominated score. The film is also being executive produced by author Alice Walker, and is currently set to release in December 2023.
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