Aunjanue Ellis News

The first teaser trailer for the new movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple has been released. Get a first look at Fantasia Barrino, Halle Bailey, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, and more in the new video trailer now! The film is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey presented a first look at the upcoming movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple at CinemaCon yesterday. Winfrey was joined by director Blitz Bazawule and stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. Check out photos from inside the presentation now!

Fantasia Barrino leads the cast of the film as Celie. Danielle Brooks will reprise her Tony-nominated performance as Sofia, which we played in the musical's 2016 revival. Taraji P. Henson is slated to play Shug Avery. The cast also includes Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste, and more. Check out a photo of the first poster!

As BroadwayWorld previously announced, a movie musical film adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple will premiere later this year. The film, previously set to come to cinemas on December 20, has now shifted its opening day to Christmas Day, December 25.

Relied upon for vocal duties by David Foster, Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones, Sheléa had all the range, skill, and technique to carry Aretha Franklin's challenging repertoire,” and now she brings that repertoire and so much more to the Staller Center in an intimate evening on April 22.

Drag: the Musical, Jinkx Monsoon, and more won Queerties awards, taking place February 28th in Los Angeles. The Queerties are a celebration of entertainment and pop culture moments that defined the past year in the LGBTQ+ community. Check out the complete list of winners now!

This August, comedian, writer and actor, Deon Cole, will make his venue debut at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Cole will bring his celebrated comedic style to the stage for a special one-night-only event. 100 meet and greet tickets will be available for $100 each on top of the selected ticket price. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 4, 2023 at 10 a.m. PST.

Audra McDonald and Myles Frost have joined the cast of Ava DuVernay’s upcoming film Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. The pair will join the previously announced Jasmine Cephas-Jones, Aunjanue Ellis, Niecy Nash, Vera Farmiga, Nick Offerman, Connie Nielsen, and Jon Bernthal.

& Juliet, Titanique, A Strange Loop, Melissa Etheridge: A Journey Through Life, Take Me Out, Drag: The Musical, The Collaboration, Fat Ham, Merrily We Roll Along, Best of Enemies, Reneé Rapp, Stephanie Hsu, Jeremy Pope, Conrad Ricamora, The Color Purple, Jinkx Monsoon, The Little Mermaid, and more have been nominated for Queerties!

& Juliet, Ain't No Mo, Kimberly Akimbo, A Strange Loop, Take Me Out, Better Nate Than Ever, High School Musical: the Musical: the Series, Trevor: the Musical, Reneé Rapp, Dove Cameron, Only Murders in the Building, and more were nominated for GLAAD Media Awards. Check out the complete list of nominations now!

Among the members who signed the statement of support for the CROWN Act are Audra McDonald, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kerry Washington, and dozens of other performers. In the letter, members assert, “Discrimination based on hair style or texture is a destructive practice that has alienated and caused irreparable harm to Black Americans.” 

The Color Purple musical movie is currently currently being filmed in Georgia and this week, young star, Halle Bailey, wrapped her portion of filming, celebrating with a sweet gift from producer, Oprah Winfrey. Watch the video!

Three new faces have been added to the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of The Color Purple. Terrence J. Smith will take on the role of 'Adam', Tiffany Elle Burgess will play 'Olivia', and Aba Arthur will also join the cast.

The musical, featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, blues and African rhythms, has a book by Marsha Norman with music by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The film, directed by Blitz Bazawule, will star Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Colman Domingo, Halle Bailey, Ciara, and more.

Jon Batiste has joined the cast of the upcoming musical film adaption of The Color Purple. Batiste will make his feature film acting debut in the film as Grady, a piano man and the husband of Shug Avery, played here by Taraji P. Henson. Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, H.E.R., Corey Hawkins, Halle Bailey, Ciara, and more are set for the film.

Elizabeth Marvel will play the role of Miss Millie, the unpleasant wife of the mayor, who hires Sofia to be her maid. The film is currently in production in Georgia. Marvel joins a star-studded cast including Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Ciara, Corey Hawkins, Colman Domingo, H.E.R., and Aunjanue Ellis.

AMC's upcoming original drama series 61st Street is set for an April 10th premiere. The two-season event from BAFTA-winner Peter Moffat is a raw, thrilling drama series about a promising Chicago high school athlete wrongfully swept up into the criminal justice system. 61st Street will debut Sunday, April 10 at 10pm ET/PT on AMC, with the first two episodes streaming on AMC+ and ALLBLK. New episodes of the eight-episode first season will roll out weekly, on Sundays, and will be available one week early on AMC+ and ALLBLK. 

Hosted by Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer, the 94th Oscars featured appearances by Liza Minnelli, Halle Bailey, Stephanie Beatriz, H.E.R., Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Lily James, Lady Gaga, John Leguizamo, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Rachel Zegler, and more.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) hosted the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards on the evening of Saturday, March 19, 2022 at the Fairmont Century Plaza. A full list of winners is below.