Jennifer Hudson, Danielle Brooks, & Cynthia Erivo Discuss The Color Purple

Recently, Jennifer Hudson, Danielle Brooks, and Cynthia Erivo sat down with Broadway.com to discuss their upcoming roles in the revival of The Color Purple, which begins previews on November 9 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and opens on December 3.  The production originally opened on Broadway in 2005, and LaChanze won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Celie. Jennifer Hudson’s fellow “American Idol” finalist Fantasia Barrino succeeded LaChanze as Celie.

Danielle Brooks, known for her role as Taystee on the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black,” will star as Sofia; Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe winner Jennifer Hudson will take on the role of Shug Avery, and Cynthia Erivo will reprise her role as Celie, which she played in the London staging of the Color Purple.

The trio discussed how excited they were to work together and play such iconic roles.  Jennifer Hudson said, “She (Shug) is in me.  I’m completely connected to it…I cannot wait to completely tap into her.” Danielle Brooks (fittingly, The Color Purple was the first Broadway show she saw), describes it as an “out of body experience…I can’t believe it’s happening and it’s so exciting when your dreams come true.”

“What {director} John Doyle has done with The Color Purple is a revelation—to maintain the show’s epic sweep and sense of history while also ensuring that Celie’s journey be an intimate, emotionally profound theatrical experience,” said producer Scott Sanders. “Celie is the heart of The Color Purple and Cynthia Erivo, an astonishingly talented young actress who will be making her Broadway debut, is thrilling in the role. She breaks the audience’s heart and heals it by the show’s finale, all while blowing the roof off the theatre with her remarkable voice. And having her joined onstage by an acclaimed actress and recording star like Jennifer Hudson—who will also be making her Broadway debut—all but guarantees some legendary musical theatre fireworks.”

Tickets go on sale June 30 to the general public but are available now to Audience Rewards members.