One of the many song-and-dance numbers set to appear in the upcoming film adaptation of The Color Purple musical is from Taraji P. Henson, who performs “Push Da Button” as blues singer Shug Avery in the latest trailer for the movie, released Tuesday (Oct. 10).
The trailer kicks off with Avery and Celie (Fantasia Barrino) engaging in an intimate conversation. “How come you don’t laugh none? Ain’t you got something to make you just smile?” Avery inquires, to which Celie replies, “My sister, and I ain’t seen her in years.” Avery quips, “You know if you ain’t gon’ laugh, you need to sell your funny bone.”
Flashback scenes of Celie as a young girl (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) bonding with her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) play, as the older Celie reflects on how their relationship was severed. “I was married to a man I didn’t love. And he took my sister away from me,” she explains.
Henson’s rendition of “Push Da Button” comes in halfway through the trailer and sees her wearing a red showgirl outfit — a sequined dress, matching head piece and fur stole — as she entertains a packed club where drinks are on the house. As Avery, Henson commands the crowd. “Now that I got your attention/ Here’s what you men need to hear/ Push the button/ Give me something/ Baby, baby, baby/ What do ya gotta do? Push the button/ Push it if ya wanna come in.”
The Color Purple, adapted from the Broadway musical that is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker, tells the tale of “the life-long struggles of an African American woman (Celie) living in the south during the early 1900s” and “the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond,” according to an official synopsis of the film.
The Color Purple will arrive in theaters on Dec. 25. Watch the new trailer in the video above.
