Colman Domingo is under a purple haze…
Warner Bros. has released a new look at its upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of The Color People, starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and social justice activist.
In addition to Domingo, who portrays Albert “Mister” Johnson, the musical film also stars Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Directed by Blitz Bazawule, the film will open in theaters on December 25. Marcus Gardley, Alice Walker and Marsha Norman penned the screenplay.
The film is based on the Tony-winning musical from Norman, Brenda Lee, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, which was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alice Walker. It comes on the heels of a classic 1985 film adaptation from director Steven Spielberg and centers on Celie, a Black Southern woman who struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over the course of forty years.
The original Broadway musical debuted in 2005, scoring 11 Tony Award nominations in 2006 and Best Performance by an actress in a leading role for award for LaChanze in her role as Celie. The 2015 revival garnered four more Tony nominations and won for Best Revival of a Musical for Cynthia Erivo in her Broadway debut. The musical has also won Grammy and Emmy awards.
Spielberg directed and produced the 1985 adaptation of the Alice Walker novel, which received 11-time Oscar-nominations. The film scored Oprah Winfrey a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, and Leading Actress Oscar nomination and Golden Globe Award for Whoopi Goldberg.
The Color Purple (2023) producers include Spielberg, Winfrey, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones with executive producers Walker and Rebecca Walker.