I’m gently trying to get her to say how famous she expects to be, but she, again, demures. He cast her almost immediately, and production on the film begins in the fall. Ms. Erivo started performing at age 11 — she began not only young, but serious, in Brecht’s “The Caucasian Chalk Circle.” She took up the clarinet, acted in school shows, and by 15 was Juliet in a Young Vic youth production of “Romeo and Juliet.” She did a bit of reality TV, advising chaotic families on “Trust Me, I’m a Teenager.” And five years later, when she was studying music psychology in college, she ran into the director of the Young Vic production, who persuaded her to transfer to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. ), Ms. Erivo’s role is decidedly unglamorous — Celie, living under harsh economic and domestic conditions in early-20th-century rural Georgia, is seen, and described, as unattractive by everyone around her. How Cynthia Erivo made The Color Purple her own. She’s not, because she’s working very hard.). The 30-year-old star has been working nonstop since the Broadway revival of The Color Purple closed in January, and while she’s technically working now — she’s currently in Chicago, in early rehearsals for Steve McQueen’s heist film, Widows, alongside Viola Davis and André Holland — it’s the first time since 2015 that her schedule has allotted her a regular day off on the weekend. “I heard she was incredible, but for a project of this importance, I needed to see it for myself,” Mann recalls. Zooey Deschanel’s Long Con Pays Off, Will Appear on. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Erivo believes in building each performance from the ground up. But in bringing to the stage one of the most enduring characters of 20th-century American literature, Celie of “The Color Purple,” Ms. Erivo, a 28-year-old British actress now making her Broadway debut, is demanding that audiences see more than that. “She’s a beast,” Ms. Miller said. Ms. Erivo’s sobering and stirring portrayal of Celie, in a rapturously reviewed revival of a musical version of “The Color Purple” that opened this month, brought the kind of praise that can change a performer’s career: “An incandescent new star,” declared The New York Times. (Yes, she’s also an avid knitter.). “Transcendent,” said The Hollywood Reporter. Just because I don’t look like everybody else doesn’t mean that I can’t be just as beautiful.”. I’ll let you guess who she’s playing. “Is Celie actually ugly?”. “But my idea is not to do that at all. She counts Chewing Gum’s Michaela Coel, Lupita Nyong’o, and Issa Rae as friends, peers, co-conspirators, and car-karaoke backup singers. Muse Watson Answers Every Question We Have About. Of the three, Mann’s viewing was the most crucial. Gayle King’s eyes are closed, and she’s leaning to the side and singing along. Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo (/ ə ˈ r iː v oʊ /; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. “We’re constantly asking each other, how do we better our situations, how do we create spaces for people, how do we make sure that the example we set is a good one, what can we do to further ourselves and each other? There is video. The Color Purple is a musical with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray.Based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker and its 1985 film adaptation, the show follows the journey of Celie, an African-American woman in the American South from the early to mid-20th century.. Her voice is clear — I wouldn’t call it a belt, there’s such a lightness to it – but, man, does it pack power. Ms. Cannon said that the dynamic changed when Ms. Erivo took a role in a production of “Look Homeward, Angel,” that required her to demonstrate vulnerability, onstage and with classmates. No matter which avenue she chooses, Erivo is about to be catapulted into the next stratosphere of fame. Apologies for the internet-ism here, but get you someone who looks at you the way all of these people looked at Cynthia Erivo for the few minutes she sang. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. She begins each day with green juice and a workout; she boxes, does yoga and rides a scooter, and then at night, she said, “I like to do four sets of 10 to 15 push-ups, then four sets of 40 mountain climbers, just to get the blood moving.” Ordinarily, she lifts weights, too, but she has taken a break while playing Celie to prevent bulking up. Now let her into your house with a drill. “Now it’s her strength and her vulnerability — the fact that she is able to show her soul and inner life — that defines her,” Ms. Cannon said. It would stop me from being able to do the things I want to.”. Not having the Charlie Brown holiday specials on broadcast TV this year just seems cruel, especially when they still have so much to teach us. A perfect marriage of formats, a main character’s long-deserved redemption, and an exciting new face combine for a hall-of-fame episode. “We all collectively share in a pain of displacement, and not feeling like we quite belong in places.”, The cast has embraced her. When Erivo performed at the 36th annual Kennedy Center Honors last December, she was captivating from the moment she took the stage — her dark skin contrasted by her trademark short, white-blonde hair and a cream-colored-lace floor-length skirt and crop top, she appeared to be glowing.