Theater fans, start planning your fall seasons accordingly. It was just announced that Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks, who plays fan favorite 'Taystee,' will be making her Broadway debut as 'Sofia' in the revival of The Color Purple. For those of you less familiar with The Color Purple, 'Sofia' is the role Oprah Winfrey played in the 1985 film, based on the Alicia Walker's acclaimed novel. Oprah will also be producing the revival, along with much of the same producing team from the original 2005 Broadway run of the musical, which has a book by Marsha Norman and score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Brey.
The glorious addition of Danielle Brooks is just yet another reason to eagerly await the revival, which also stars Jennifer Hudson of American Idol/Dreamgirls fame and London stage star Cynthia Erivo. Directed by Tony Award-winning director John Doyle (whose stunning musical The Visit is currently playing on Broadway), this production is coming off of a successful run at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, so there's every reason to believe this will fulfill all of our highest hopes. Even better, according to Variety.com The Color Purple's original production was Danielle Brook's first Broadway show, and a crucial moment in which she realized she wanted to pursue a career in acting. And we're so glad she did! Previews of The Color Purple will start on November 9th at the Jacobs theater, and the show will open officially on December 10th. Until then, we'll get our Danielle Brooks fix with the all-new season of Orange is the New Black, premiering June 12th on Netflix!
