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'The Color Purple' musical to film in downtown Macon, bringing economic boost

Prep work is underway for a musical remake of an iconic movie.

MACON, Ga. — Prep work in Macon is underway for a musical remake of an iconic movie.

"All my life, I had to fight." 

You may know those lines spoken by Oprah WInfrey from the 1985 movie, "The Color Purple." The musical version of the classic film is coming to Macon!

 "As always, we are excited to have film and television production come into town," said Aaron Buzza, the Vice President of Visit Macon.

The streets are buzzing as sets are being built for the new musical version of "The Color Purple."  The original movie was released on December 18, 1985, and featured stars like Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.

The new musical version is expected to shoot in Macon from April 6th through the 8th, so once again, people in Macon will able to point out the city streets in the film. When productions come to Macon, it benefits the city economically, too.

"When you have productions here, you have their crew here, they are in hotels, going out to eat, shopping. They run out of plywood and go to hardware stores, so there's an opportunity for the community to see an economic impact," explained Buzza.

Macon Bagels shop owner Lauren Bone said they will have to close one day for the filming, but the production company is taking care of her business and employees.

"They basically paid us to close for the day, so our staff gets a paid day off and we get to relax for a day," said Bone.

Bone hopes that one of the film's key people gets a bagel craving and comes to her shop.

"Obviously, Oprah -- she's a producer on the movie and is in the original "Color Purple." That would be pretty cool," a smiling Bone said.

13WMAZ spoke to some business owners and other people who are also excited about this production coming to town.

For all the aspiring actors, this could be your big break, because they are looking for 1920s townspeople to work as extras on April 6.

The musical is scheduled to be released in December 2023.

Aaron Buzza of Visit Macon says more productions could be coming to Macon this summer.

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