A Guide to THE COLOR PURPLE Musical Songs: What Was Cut & Added

The Color Purple movie musical is set to hit theaters on December 25, infusing music into Alice Walker's classic story.

The Color Purple first opened on Broadway in 2005, starring LaChanze in her Tony-winning role of Celie. Fantasia Barrino, who stars in the new film adaptation, made her Broadway debut in the musical in 2007, later appearing in the national tour for a brief run.

The musical then returned to Broadway in 2015, starring Barrino's former American Idol co-star Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery. Cynthia Erivo won a Tony Award for her performance as Celie in the revival, along with Danielle Brooks being nominated for her performance as Sofia. Brooks is now reprising the role for the new film.

Blitz Bazawule's 2023 film stars Barrino and Brooks reprising their Broadway roles, joined by Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, Corey Hawkins, Colman Domingo, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, H.E.R., and more.

The new movie musical features several new songs with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. With the additional of new material, some of the songs from the stage production have been cut. Check out a guide to new and old songs from The Color Purple on Broadway and on screen below!

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What The Color Purple musical songs were cut from the movie?

The Church Ladies' Songs

Songs sung by the "Church Ladies" in the musical have been cut from the film, including "That Fine Mister," "A Tree Named Sofia," and "All We Got to Say." The Church Ladies were three women in the musical that narrated the events of the musical. They open the musical with "Mysterious Ways," which is now sung by the First Lady, played by Tamela Mann, and other church-goers in the film.

"Somebody Gonna Love You"

"Somebody Gonna Love You" is the second song in the musical, coming directly after the "Mysterious Ways" opening number. Celie sings the song to her newborn baby. While the song was cut from the film, Celie now sings "She Be Mine" following the birth of her baby.

"Our Prayer"

"Our Prayer" begins as a duet between Celie and Nettie as they fantasize about their dreams for the future. The song then segues into a scene between their father and Mister, during which Celie is given away for marriage. Although it is not sung, the scene does occur in the new film. 

"Big Dog"

"Big Dog" comes in the musical as Celie moves in with Mister. He lays out her duties within his household, describing her daily chores and orders. Mister is backed up in the song by workers in his field.

"Mister / Nettie & Lily of the Field"

This song comes after Nettie moves in with Mister and Celie. When Mister tries to force himself on Nettie, she refuses and he bans her from his property. Celie is now prohibited from communicating with her sister, with Mister threatening to kill her if she checks the mailbox for letters from Nettie.

"Dear God - Sofia"

"Dear God - Sofia" is sung by Celie when she first meets Sofia. It is one of two "Dear God" songs in the musical. "Dear God - Shug," which serves a similar function for the introduction to the character of Shug Avery, still remains intact for the film.

"Brown Betty"

"Brown Betty" is a song sung by the character of Harpo as he begins to work on his juke joint. The song also introduces the character of Squeak. The song now comes earlier in the story, being replaced by "Workin'" for the new film.

"Too Beautiful For Words"

"Too Beautiful For Words" is a song that Shug Avery sings to Celie before her performance at the juke joint. The moment marks one of the first times anyone has told Celie she is beautiful, cementing Shug as a prominent figure in Celie's life. The song can be briefly heard on the radio in the new film, but it is not fully performed by Taraji P. Henson.

"Uh-Oh"

"Uh-Oh" is the scene following "Push Da Button" in Harpo's juke joint. It follows a fight between Sofia and Harpo as she meets Squeak for the first time. The scene still takes place in the film, without any singing.

"African Homeland"

"African Homeland" opens act two in the musical. The song comes as Celie reads the letters she has received from Nettie throughout the years. Nettie reveals that she has been reunited with Celie's children after traveling to Africa with their Reverend and his wife. The scene is still in the film, soundtracked by "Agoo," without singing.

"The Color Purple"

While the title song from the musical is the finale of the current film, the stage verison features a solo version of "The Color Purple" that Shug Avery sings to Celie after "African Homeland." The song was then reprised for the finale of the musical in the same way that it is currently featured in the movie musical.

"I Curse You Mister"

Taking place during the iconic dinner scene, "I Curse You Mister" is a brief musical moment in the musical as Celie curses Mister before leaving his house with Shug. When she sings "I may be poor, I may be Black, I may be ugly, but I'm here," it precedes the 11 o'clock number, "I'm Here."

"Celie's Curse"

Sung by Mister, "Celie's Curse" comes after Celie leaves Mister. The songs gives Mister a back story, revealing that his father had abused him and his first wife got killed when she ran away. The curse Celie placed on him kills his crops, causing him to change his character after she leaves.

"Any Little Thing"

"Any Little Thing" is a duet between Harpo and Sofia after they get back together. It follows Sofia's return to her old self after she was released from prison. In the middle of the song, Mister interuppts them to tell them that he is working to bring Nettie back to America to see Celie. Mister now works on Nettie's arrival alone in the film.

"What About Love (Reprise)"

The reprise of "What About Love" segues directly into "I'm Here" in the musical. It comes as Shug Avery reveals must wait for her for six months to have her "last fling" with another man. Fed up with waiting for Shug, Celie realizes that she no longer needs to her recognize her worth. This scene and storyline no longer happens in the film. Since the reprise is cut from the film, Celie begins "I'm Here" alone in her store in the musical.

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What songs were added to The Color Purple movie?

"She Be Mine"

Sung by Phylicia Peal Mpasi as Young Celie, "She Be Mine" occurs after Celie is forced to give her newborn baby away. It replaces "Somebody Gonna Love You." "She Be Mine" was originally written for the musical, but was cut during workshops and never made it to the stage.

"The song is a rhythm and blues song that is part of someone's imagination," Mpasi recently said to BroadwayWorld. "This character is someone who lives in her head, but she's a little docile. She's quieter. She won't necessarily express herself through [a bigger] voice. So I had to take that and then find out how to vocalize that in the song."

"Keep It Movin'"

Co-written by Halle Bailey, "Keep It Movin'" takes places as Nettie teaches Celie to keep her head up during the darker moments of her life. It replaces the duet between the sisters in the musical, "Our Prayer." Bailey worked on the song with Denisia Andrews and Brittany Coney. 

"Workin'"

"Workin'" is sung by Corey Hawkins as Harpo in the new film as he works on his juke joint. It replaces the song "Brown Betty" in the musical. Hawkins recently revealed to BroadwayWorld how the new song came to be after he had noticed Harpo did not have a song in the film.

"What does it mean when you don't have a song, you know? What does that imply, all the machinations of that. So to give Harpo voice, to let that Black Boy Joy come out, to show his willingness. The work song, for me, is the first side of Harpo's breaking the cycle of trauma, breaking that toxic masculinity that's passed down to him. It allowed me to lean in and push the button a little further with Harpo and I appreciated that. It plays into the old work songs that we had to sing in order to keep from crying and to get through our days working in the fields."

"Maybe God Is Tryin' to Tell You Something'"

"Maybe God Is Tryin' to Tell You Something'" is another song that was reinstated in the movie musical from the original 1985 film. It comes as Shug Avery and her father, played by David Alan Grier, overcome their past and settle on their differences through song.

"Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)"

"Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" was originally heard in Steven Spielberg's 1985 film. It has now been reinstated for the movie musical, performed by Taraji P. Henson's Shug with John Batiste's Grady at the piano. 

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What songs were cut from The Color Purple Broadway revival?

Overture

The overture that was featured in the original 2005 Broadway production of The Color Purple was cut from the 2015 Broadway revival. The song is not featured in the film either.

Church Ladies Easter

"Church Ladies Easter" is a song that was only heard on the original Broadway production, happening just before the Easter dinner scene as the Church ladies gossip about Shug Avery's new boyfriend.

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Listen to the complete soundtrack for The Color Purple here: