ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK's Danielle Brooks to Make Broadway Debut Opposite Jennifer Hudson & Cynthia Erivo in THE COLOR PURPLE

DANIELLE BROOKS, who plays 'Taystee' on the hit TV show, Orange Is the New Black, will make her Broadway debut as 'Sofia' in the upcoming Broadway musical revival of The Color Purple. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Ms. Brooks joins the previously announced JENNIFER HUDSON and CYNTHIA ERIVO in the critically acclaimed staging from London's Menier Chocolate Factory.

All three women will be making their Broadway debuts with this production.

Directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, The Color Purple will begin preview performances on Monday, November 9th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street) and will officially open on Thursday, December 10. The Color Purple is produced by Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Oprah Winfrey, David Babani, and Tom Siracusa.

A Young Hollywood Award Winner, DANIELLE BROOKS stars as "Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson" in Jenji Kohan's Orange Is the New Black, a Netflix original series that follows the lives of prisoners in an all-women's correctional facility. Orange Is the New Black will return for its third season on June 12th, 2015. Brooks was born and raised in South Carolina before heading to NYC to attend Juilliard's drama program. Brooks' other credits include the Sony/Rovio animated feature, Angry Birds, alongside Maya Rudolph and Josh Gad; HBO's Girls; the indie feature film I Dream Too Much, executive produced by Richard Linklater (SXSW); and Time Out of Mind, written and directed by Oren Moverman, starring Richard Gere.

John Doyle's critically acclaimed production opened in summer 2013 in London at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Charles Spencer of The Telegraph said The Color Purple, "BLOWS THE ROOF OFF THE THEATRE," and Libby Purvess of The Times says, "IT ROCKS THE HOUSE. NEVER WAS THERE SUCH STAMPING, CHEERING, HOOTING, ROARING AND WHISTLING." And Mark Shenton of The Stage called the production, "A REVELATION. SOMETHING TRULY EXTRAORDINARY."

Based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning novel and the Warner Bros. / Amblin Entertainment motion picture, The Color Purple is adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

THE COLOR PURPLE is an unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity. With a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life.

Group tickets are currently available for The Color Purple by calling 1-800-432-7780.

JENNIFER HUDSON won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for her performance as Effie White in Dreamgirls. Her breakout film performance also garnered a Screen Actors Guild Award and an NAACP Image Award. Additional film credits include Sex and the City, Secret Life of Bees, Winnie Mandela, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, and Black Nativity. Her highly acclaimed album, JHUD, dropped this past fall in the top 10 on Billboard's Top 200. Just prior, she released singles including the recently Grammy-nominated "It's Your World," featuring R. Kelly; "He Ain't Goin' Nowhere," featuring Iggy Azaelea; "I Can't Describe," produced by Pharrell and featuring TI; and "Walk It Out," featuring Timbaland. Most recently, Hudson was featured on Gorgon City's chart topping track, "Go All Night," off their new album, Sirens.

Hudson's 2008 debut album went Platinum and entered Billboard's Top 200 at No. 2 thus marking the biggest first week sales for an R&B female entry since 2004. The album was nominated for four Grammys and won for "Best R&B Album." In 2009, Hudson released her sophomore album, I Remember Me which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 and R&B Albums charts and has since been certified Gold in the U.S.

CYNTHIA ERIVO, one of the fastest-rising stars of British musical theatre, received an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination for Best Musical Performance and a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Celie in The Color Purple. In 2011 Cynthia received her first big musical theatre break, in Kneehigh Theatre's production of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Gielgud Theatre, followed by the starring role of Deloris Van Cartier in the UK tour of Jerry Zaks' production of Sister Act. Cynthia appeared in the West End as Chenice in Harry Hill and Simon Cowell's critically acclaimed musical, I Can't Sing, at the London Palladium and also played the leading role of Dessa in the European premiere of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical, Dessa Rose, at Trafalgar Studios.

A 2010 graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), Cynthia's many stage credits include Simon Stephens' Marine Parade, which premiered at the 2010 Brighton Festival, John Adams' experimental "song play," I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky, at Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Dominic Hill's The Three Musketeers and The Princess of Spain at Traverse, Belgrade and English Touring theatres.

This past fall, Cynthia returned to her classical roots in the Donmar Warehouse's acclaimed all-female production of Henry IV opposite Dame Harriet Walter, directed by Phyllida Lloyd. She will soon star as Puck in the Liverpool Everyman's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, opposite Dean Nolan and Andrew Schofield, directed by Nick Bagnall. In addition to her stage career, Cynthia is a songwriter and wrote the song, "Fly Before You Fall," for last year's feature film Beyond the Lights.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!