Ciara is the latest celebrity vocalist to join the astonishing cast of “The Color Purple” musical remake. Entertainment Weekly reports that Ciara will portray the adult version of Nettie in the movie musical produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of which starred in the 1985 film.
Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle will play the younger version of Nettie. The musical will explore Celie’s life after leaving Mister, featuring scenes of Nettie reuniting with her sisters in Africa.
The “Goodies” singer shared the exciting news about Nettie’s role on her Instagram story.
Over the photo, she wrote, “Honored to be a part of this beautiful ensemble and historic film, ‘The Color Purple.’ Truly grateful.”
Fans in the comments had mixed reviews about Ciara joining her vocally challenging castmates in “The Color Purple” musical. One fan said, “Yes! She’s going to body this.” Another wrote, “Where can I get tickets? O.M.G.!”
Despite fans’ enthusiasm, many questioned if the dancing singer’s vocals were strong enough to hang with her co-stars, including Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, and Grammy and Oscar-winning singer H.E.R.
Coming to her defense, one individual writes, “Y’all be saying, ‘Oh Ciara can’t sing.. listen to some of her ballads sis can definitely BLOW!”
Another asks, “To dance? Can’t I know it ain’t for singing,” while one person added, “What is she going to sing, child.”
Meanwhile, others doubted CiCi’s acting skills and suggested the role of Nettie should be carried out entirely by Bailey.
One person wrote, “Can she act? And I love Ciara but her singing compared to the rest of the cast is subpar.”
Another said, “Nettie?? No. I’m honestly annoyed by this casting.” Someone else asked, “Why can’t Halle play an older version of herself? I mean she is about 23.”
Ciara’s acting credits include roles in MTV’s “All You’ve Got,” “That’s My Boy,” and BET’s “The Game.” The singer portrayed the adult version of her character Amara Winter, in the 2010 musical drama “Mama, I Want to Sing!” alongside Lynn Whitfield and Patti Labelle.
However, a handful of dedicated fans are still looking forward to seeing the Grammy-winning singer in another musical.
“It probably would do good!” said one individual. “Y’all said the same thing about Prince of Bel-Air, and it turned out good.” Another wrote, “Congrats to her. She stays booked and busy. I know y’all haters are fuming.”
The Color Purple” remake also stars Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier, Tamela J. Mann, Deon Cole, and Stephen Hill. The original 1985 film was created from Alice Walker’s 1982 novel and focused on Whoopi Goldberg’s character Celie.
