From W.HYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Sam Brigger in for Terry Gross.

Today, actress Taraji P. Hansen. She's playing jazz singer Shook Avery in the new musical adaptation of the color purple.

When Oprah called to tell her she got the part, Taraji was at home ignoring her phone.

Then she noticed she'd had a bunch of missed calls from Tyler Perry, who she called back.

And I called him back, he's like, are you answering your phone?

And I was like, no, why, what's up?

What's going on?

And he was like, oh, first trying to call you.

And I was like, oh, bye. So she left the voice note and I got the voice note and I started

trembling. Also we'll hear from Brad Meldow, one of the most acclaimed and influential jazz pianists

of his generation.

He joins us at the piano for music and conversation.

And Justin Chang will share his list of the best movies of the year. That's all coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

This is Fresh Air Weekend.

I'm Sam Brigger Infatory Gross. The film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple is now out in theaters and for award-winning actress Taraji P Henson starring in the American classic is a full circle moment.

Hansen first saw Stephen Spielberg's film version as a high schooler in DC

and knew from then on that she wanted to be an actor.

I just remember going to the movie saying all of those black people on the screen and I was like,

oh my God, I really want to do that.

The Color Purple, which was first a Pulitzer Prize winning novel written by Alice Walker in

1982 tells the tale of the lifelong struggles of Seeley an African American woman

living in the South during the early 1900s and the sisterhood of three women.

...