Scene 2 Seen Podcast: Phylicia Pearl Mpasi And Choreographer Fatima Robinson Discuss Why ‘The Color Purple’ Is An Important Piece Of Literature, And What It Takes To Bring Musicals To Life On Screen

Hello and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline.

Today, I am chatting with writer-actress-singer Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, who stars as young Celie in the new musical film version of The Color Purple, and with Fatima Robinson, the famed choreographer who helped create the movie’s spectacular dance pieces.

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The Color Purple is based on the Tony-winning musical from Marsha Norman, Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, which was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alice Walker. It comes on the heels of a classic 1985 film adaptation from director Steven Spielberg and centers on Celie, a Black Southern woman who struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over the course of 40 years.

Prior to appearing in The Color Purple, Mpasi was a staff writer on the Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, an musical comedy from creator-showrunner Annabel Oakes alongside Temple Hill and Picturestart. Mpasi was also a writer on the podcast series We Stay Looking, a sequel to Issa Rae’s Insecure companion podcast Looking for Latoya. She can also be seen in Broadway’s The Lion King and is a participant in the Mentorship Matters BIPOC Writers Initiative.

Robinson is a three-time Emmy nominee whose recent projects include Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour and the 2022 Super Bowl. She was nominated for an Emmy for producing the regarded 2022 Grammy Awards, as well as the 2021 Grammys, along with choreography nominations for each. In addition to choreographing The Color Purple, she has choreographed films such as Dreamgirls, Coming 2 America, The Harder They Fall, American Gangster, Public Enemies, Ali, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Robinson was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment, and has received numerous MTV VMA nominations for Best Choreography.

In this episode, I talk with the duo about the art of singing and choreography, carving space for yourself in Hollywood, and why The Color Purple is such an important piece of literature and media.

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