Oprah Winfrey Eying a Turn on Broadway

It seems that Oprah Winfrey may very well be catching the Broadway bug, and audiences may be seeing her in a role in the near future.

Most people know the media mogul for her 25 year long stint in television as the host of the popular daytime talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also launched OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) in January 2011, which has been gaining both popularity and viewership. But since as early as 2011, Oprah has made it clear that her aspirations extended far beyond television. In an interview with The Chicago Tribune in 2011 Oprah said, “I have a stack of plays in my bag right now that I am reading…I was in New York meeting with producers. We were just talking about what would be the best route to take. But yes, this is really going to happen. … Life is too short.”

Winfrey has been approached in the past to take a Broadway role. Kenny Leon wanted her to star in the revival of Fences, but conflicts in her schedule did not allow her to take the role. However, that did not cause her to lose the desire to perform. Just recently in an interview with The New York Daily News Oprah was quoted as saying, “Yeah, Broadway is definitely in my future. Nothing is set as of yet, but it’s there. I see it. Broadway is in my future.”

Regardless of the role she chooses, everyone is eagerly awaiting her arrival on Broadway. Her performances in The Color Purple and The Butler demonstrate she has what it takes to shine on screen and that is sure to translate on stage as well.

Oprah can currently be seen on the big screen in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. She plays the role of Gloria Gaines who is the wife of Cecil Gaines, played by Forest Whitaker. The film tells the real-life story of White House butler (Eugene Allen) who served during 8 U.S. presidencies between the years 1952 to 1986.