H.E.R., the Oscar-winning singer-songwriter with hits like “Best Part” and “Focus,” is set to make her feature film acting debut in the musical “The Color Purple.”
The feature version of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which was itself based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel by Alice Walker, on which the Oscar-nominated Steven Spielberg-directed 1985 film was based, is being produced by Warner Bros. Celie Harris is the protagonist of the story, which follows her throughout her life as an African American woman in the early 1900s in the South.
H.E.R. will play Squeak, a juke bar waitress who transforms into an ambitious singer in the musical.
Blitz Bazawule, the director of Beyoncé’s Black Is King, is poised to direct the new version of the musical. The screenplay was written by Marcus Gardley and was adapted from Marsha Norman’s book. The score was composed by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray.
The film is now in pre-production, with casting and chemistry readings taking place. Casting and creative decisions are being made to bring the story and its concepts to a new generation of viewers, according to sources close to the project. In The Heights star Corey Hawkins joined the film this week, alongside H.E.R., who is reportedly collaborating with producers on a new original track for the film musical adaption.
For H.E.R. and Warner Bros., The Color Purple will be a type of reunion. The singer won best original song at this year’s Oscars for “Fight For You,” which was used in the studio’s Judas and the Black Messiah. H.E.R., whose real name is “Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson,” rose to prominence with the EP H.E.R. Volume 1 and later the self-titled H.E.R., which received many Grammy nominations and won two, including best R&B album. Her debut full-length album, “Back of My Mind,” was released recently.
