H.E.R. To Make Acting Debut in ‘The Color Purple’ Musical Film

H.E.R. will make her feature film debut in the Warner Bros. musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel The Color Purple, as The Hollywood Reporter reports. 

The Oscar and Grammy winner signed on to star as Squeak, portrayed by Rae Dawn Chong in the Steven Spielberg-directed, Oscar-nominated 1985 film. She’ll blossom out as a nightclub waitress to an eager singer following her escape from the grips of her husband, Harpo.  

The screenplay of the Blitz Bazawule-directed musical is by Marcus Gardley and is based on Marsha Norman’s 2005 book and Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray’s score. Oprah Winfrey, as well as Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, are on board to produce. 

It is rumored that H.E.R., who won Best Original Song (“Fight For You”) at this year’s Oscars, will handle the task of crafting an original composition for this musical. 

H.E.R.’s latest project, her debut Back of My Mind, was released in June. It features contributions from Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Baby, YG, DJ Khaled, and more. 

She is supporting the album with a fall tour of the same name. Tone Stith, who is also an RCA affiliate, joins the H.E.R. for certain dates. 

Leading up to the headlining tour, on September 18 and 19, H.E.R. will co-headline her annual Lights On Festival in Concord, Calif. The Brooklyn, N.Y. edition takes place on October 21 and 22 at the Barclays Center. 

Additionally, on September 17, H.E.R. appears on Stokley’s new album Sankofa.