Behind the ‘Color Purple’ music: How it danced from Broadway to the big screen
nypost.comFantasia Barrino, “The Little Mermaid” star Halle Berry and five-time Grammy winner H.E.R. to bring the belting in “The Color Purple,” the new movie musical adaption of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that opens in theaters on Christmas Day.But Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Taraji P.
Henson also flexes some surprise vocal chops as blues singer Shug Avery.And Executive Music Producer Stephen Bray already envisioned the former “Empire” diva in the role when she came to see the “Color Purple” musical on Broadway in 2005.“We were sitting together, and at intermission I said, ‘You know, you’d make a great Shug Avery,’ ” Bray — who co-wrote the songs for both 2005’s original stage production and its 2015 revival — told The Post. “And she said, ‘Oh no, no.
I would love that. But I can’t do that eight times a week. It’s just too much.’”But when it came time to make the jump to the big screen — with a big boost from O.G.
Sofia Oprah Winfrey, now a producer — Henson was ready to take that leap.“She’s musical-theater-trained from Howard [University], so she came to the table ready to go,” said Bray. “And she just worked so hard because, you know, she sings ‘Push Da Button’ like Bessie Smith!”And Bray knows something about changing your lane when you’ve already had success in the game.
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