Danielle Brooks is “thankful” to be taking Broadway by storm. The “Orange Is the New Black” star who has been busy splitting her time between filming the fourth season of the Netflix series in which she plays fan favorite Taystee and her role in the revival of The Color Purple, recently revealed the decision that led to her Broadway debut.
“I’m just so grateful I get to. OK, let me break this down to you: I’m a theater girl, OK? Before ‘Orange is the New Black,’ a year out of school, I was struggling to get a theater job. I auditioned for a lot of Broadway shows, and I heard no after no after no after no. ‘Orange Is the New Black’ really helped my confidence to book ‘Color Purple,'” she told ET. “Once I got it, I realized why God said, ‘This is your Broadway debut,’ because it is the first Broadway show that I ever saw, at 15 years old. So, for this thing to be full circle is the exact thing that was supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to be in — and I’m not going to name all the other shows — I wasn’t supposed to be in those shows. I was supposed to be in this and that’s a much better story than I could have ever imagined.”
The 26-year-old went on to credit OITNB for instilling her with the confidence to sing her heart out at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City: “I think it’s really a confidence thing for me. Like I was saying, I understood that I was enough as a person, as an artist, and that I have the talent. The fan base that we have gotten so quickly also was a reminder that you’re on the right path and you’re doing the right thing. I think that helped me to understand I can do this. You know what I mean? I have the talent. That’s not in the bragging way. I have been given a gift; I got that part. Now, how do I not get in my own way?”
As for her favorite moment from the production set to open on December 10, Brooks said, “I really don’t have the words to describe how much I love the theater. Every night, when I get to say that at the end of the night, when I’m exhausted, when I get to say, and to a crowd full of people who are all on their feet, “Look what God has done,” that is my favorite moment. That’s my favorite moment, because it’s so true to my life.”
Although The Color Purple is currently in previews, you can access more ticket information here. Will you be trekking to the Big Apple for the show? Sound off in the comment section below.
