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Danielle Brookswasn’t necessarily at an advantage when it came to getting cast inThe Color Purple.
The actress — who was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Sofia in the musical’s 2015 Broadway revival — will reprise her performance in the upcomingbig-screen adaptationalongsideFantasia Barrino. But she tells PEOPLE that the part wasn’t simply offered to her.
“It’s a dream come true, one that I hoped and prayed [for],” she tells PEOPLE on the red carpet at the 75th annual Tony Awards.
“I knew they were doing it, and I really had to work hard to get the part, believe it or not. They had me auditioning for several months, like going into a lot of meetings with the director.”
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She adds that “a lot of time had passed” since she played the role on Broadway in 2015 alongsideCynthia ErivoandJennifer Hudson.
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Winfrey made her film debut as Sofia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed movie adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel.
The movie musical will also starTaraji P. Hensonas Shug Avery as well as Corey Hawkins and H.E.R.
Marcus Gardley has written the screenplay for the film, specifically adapted from theTony-winningBroadwaymusical based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel. The musical ran from 2005 to 2008, with a revival that ran from 2015 through early 2017.
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Winfrey will produceThe Color PurplealongsideSteven Spielberg. It is slated for a Dec. 20, 2023, release.
The story ofThe Color Purplefollows the lives of several Black women 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.
Erivo played the role of Celie in the 2015 revival, for which she won the Tony Award for lead actress in a musical.
source: people.com
