Click Here(December 7, 2007)
*More than 20 years after Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Color Purple" made its film debut, the property may hit the big screen again – this time as a musical adapted from the current hit Broadway play. The Los Angeles Times reports that Oprah Winfrey is mulling the idea of turning her musical production into a feature film. The talk show host starred as Sofia in Steven Spielberg's original 1985 movie, appearing opposite Whoopi Goldberg's Celie and Danny Glover's Mister. Twenty years later, the Winfrey-produced musical version of "The Color Purple" made its debut on the Great White Way. Should Walker's story become a musical motion picture, it would follow a similar journey taken by the recent hit film "Hairspray," which began as a John Waters film in 1988, then hit Broadway in 2002, only to be re-imagined as a film this year with stars Queen Latifah and John Travolta.
Stage veteran LaChanze nabbed a 2005 Tony Award for her portrayal of Celie on Broadway. "The Color Purple's" box office got a jolt when "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino succeeded LaChanze in the role. Barrino has extended her stay in the Broadway production with vocalist Chaka Khan, R&B singer Bebe Winans and fellow "American Idol" finalist LaKisha Jones set to join in January. A national tour features Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child and another "American Idol" alum LaToya London.
Speak Out
Currently, 32 comments have been made on this story.
|
... |
|
| Back to Top | ||