The Color Purple (musical) Totally Explained

Everything about The Color Purple Musical totally explained

The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on December 1, 2005. The Color Purple is directed by Gary Griffin, produced by Scott Sanders, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey, with choreography by Donald Byrd. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman.
The original Broadway production starred LaChanze as Celie, Brandon Victor Dixon as Harpo, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Nettie, Kingsley Leggs as Mister, Krisha Marcano as Squeak, and Elisabeth Withers-Mendes as Shug Avery. The role of Celie has since been played by Jeannette Bayardelle, Kenita R. Miller, and from April 2007 to January 2008, Fantasia Barrino. The Broadway production earned eleven 2006 Tony Awards nominations.
The show closed on February 24, 2008, after 30 previews and 910 regular performances. The Broadway production recouped its $11 million investment within its first year on Broadway, and has grossed over $103,000,000 to date.

Workshop, World Premiere

The Color Purple was originally workshopped by the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, in the summer of 2004 before its run on Broadway in 2005. The September 9, 2004, world premiere of the musical was produced by the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta by special arrangement with Creative Battery and Scott Sanders Productions.
For the Atlanta run, La Chanze starred as Celie, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Saycon Sengbloh as Nettie, Adriane Lenox as Shug and Kingsley Leggs as Mister. Chicago director Gary Griffin staged the work featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman ('night, Mother) based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The design team featured John Lee Beatty (scenic), Brian MacDevitt (lighting), Paul Tazewell (costume) and Jon Weston (sound).

National tour

A national tour of "The Color Purple" began April 17, 2007, starting with an extended run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in . The company includes LaToya London as Nettie, Michelle Williams as Shug Avery, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, and Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie. Bayardelle and Fields both are reprising their roles from Broadway. The show exceeded revised expectations, which necessitated a four week extension of its Chicago engagement until September 30 2007. However, the original expectation was that the show would run in Chicago until November. In all, the show produced respectable business results bringing in about $1 million per week for the first half of the engagement, but less during the summer months when the ticket prices were reduced to $39.50 to keep the theater full. The second stop on the national tour was a engagement. is a Chicago resident, and her Harpo Productions Studio is only a few blocks away. In addition, Felicia Fields is a Chicago native and resident. It was also a homecoming for Gary Griffin. Both Fields and Griffin made their broadway theatre debuts with this musical. As a result of the Chicago connections the Chicago premiere had a star-studded red carpet with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Jesse Jackson, R. Kelly, and Roger Ebert. Others in attendance included United States Senator Carol Moseley Braun (despite recovering from a recent mugging) and Christie Hefner. Coverage of the Chicago premier was prominent in international media.

Synopsis

Act I

As the story begins, it's Sunday morning in rural Georgia, 1909. "Po' chil" (Poor child) Celie, 14 years old and pregnant for the second time, is playing a clapping game with her beloved sister Nettie (Huckleberry Pie). When she comes to church with her sister and their Pa, Celie goes into labor before the service ends (Mysterious Ways). Later, Pa takes Celie's baby from her arms (Somebody Gonna Love You), saying he's going to get rid of it, "same as the last one," and that she better not tell anybody except God what happened. Celie asks God for a sign, something that will let her know what is happening to her.
   A few years later, when a local farmer, Mister, needs a wife to take care of his children, Pa says Nettie is too young, but offers him Celie instead, and throws a cow into a bargain. Although the girls vow never to be parted (Our Prayer), Celie goes with Mister to save Nettie's dreams of becoming a teacher. As the local Church Ladies cluck their approval (That Fine Mister), Mister's field hands introduce Celie to her life of hard work at Mister's (Big Dog). Nettie arrives one day, having fled from Pa's lecherous attentions, and asks if she can stay. Mister agrees, but then attacks Nettie on her way to school. When she fights back, he throws her off his property, swearing that the girls will never see each other again (Lily of the Field). Nettie promises to write to Celie as she's cast away from Mister's home. However, when Celie attempts to open the mailbox, Mister promptly rebuffs her, threatening her with death if she ever touches it again.
   Mister's son, Harpo, grows up and soon brings home Sofia, a proud and strong-willed woman (Dear God - Sofia) whom he loves and later marries. But eventually, Harpo tires of being bossed around by Sofia. Mister tells him he's to beat Sofia if he wants her to mind. Even Celie, who has endured such abuse from Mister, agrees this is the only way to make a woman "jump when he says to." But Sofia gives as good as she gets (A Tree Named Sofia), and is victorious in beating Harpo instead. Angered by Celie's suggestion, she confronts her (Hell No!), but her anger subsides when Sofia realizes how much Celie has suffered from Mister's cruelty. Not long after that, Sofia's sisters arrive to take her away. Sofia tries to convince Celie to come with her, but she declines. Left alone, Harpo turns his home into a juke joint and hires a new waitress, Squeak, to work there (Brown Betty). Love-stricken, Squeak soon moves in with Harpo.
   The whole town prepares for the arrival of Shug Avery, a sexy singer who is Mister's longtime lover (Shug Avery Comin' to Town). But when Shug arrives, she's in such bad shape that in spite of local disapproval (All We've Got to Say), Mister brings her home where Celie nurses her back to health (Dear God - Shug). As Celie takes care of Shug, she begins to experience feelings of affection and tenderness for the first time, as Shug befriends her (Too Beautiful for Words). When Shug sings at Harpo's Juke Joint (Push Da Button), Sofia returns with her new boyfriend and gets into a fight with Squeak (Uh Oh!). In Mister's house, Shug and Celie explore their newfound love for each other (What About Love?). Shug gives Celie a letter she found from "someone in Africa, goin' by the stamps." Celie recognizes Nettie's handwriting and knows instantly that her beloved sister is alive (Act I Finale).

Act II

Celie discovers the rest of the numerous letters that Mister has hidden over the years, and learns that Nettie traveled to Africa with the missionary family that also adopted Celie’s babies, and that they're now residing in an African refugee camp (African Homeland). Meanwhile, in Georgia, Sofia has been beaten and thrown into jail for punching the mayor. (When his wife asks Sofia to be her maid, and Sofia refuses, the mayor decides to intervene and is then subjected to Sofia’s harsh temper.) Celie goes to the jail to comfort her, and learns that Sofia will have to serve out her sentence in the custody of the Mayor’s wife, thus reducing her to the very thing she fought so hard against. Twelve years later, Sofia and Shug both return home for Easter. Shug discovers the extent of Celie’s anger towards God (The Color Purple) and invites her to come live with her and her new husband in Memphis.
After Easter dinner (Church Ladies’ Easter), Celie tells Mister that she's leaving. He protests and she finally confronts him about his cruel treatment of her over the years (I Curse You, Mister). Squeak is off to Memphis also, stating that she wants to sing. Harpo defends her choice to his father, and long after they leave, he invites Sofia to come back and live at the Juke Joint, reconciling with her in the process. Soon, Mister begins to feel the effect of Celie’s curse. He’s drunk nearly all of the time, and is shunned by everyone. Harpo challenges his father to make things right with Celie, and Mister attempts to understand what that might mean (Mister's Song - Celie’s Curse).
At Shug’s house in Memphis, Celie discovers that she's a natural gift for making pants. When she inherits the house she once lived and grew up in, she goes home and starts a business selling her unique designs (Miss Celie’s Pants). Mister tries to help Sofia’s sickly youngest child Henrietta, and even Celie has to admit that Mister is trying to change. Harpo and Sofia are spending a pleasant night at home (Any Little Thing) when Mister comes to tell them that he's found Nettie, but that she's having some difficulty getting home from Africa. Shug tells Celie that she's fallen in love with a young flute player, and asks her to let her have one last fling with him (What About Love? - Reprise). Walking home, Celie realizes that she isn’t destroyed by this, and feels a deep love for herself, for the very first time (I’m Here). 1949. As the whole community is gathered for a Fourth of July picnic at Celie’s home, Celie hears a car horn, then a familiar song from her childhood. Nettie runs towards the house, with Celie’s adult children following close behind. Mister and Shug have made this reunion possible, and Celie thanks them, and God, for the safe return of her family (The Color Purple - Reprise).

Musical numbers

Act I

"Overture" - Orchestra
"Huckleberry Pie/Mysterious Ways" - Young Celie and Young Nettie / Celie, Nettie, and Ensemble
"Somebody Gonna Love You" - Celie
"Our Prayer" - Nettie, Celie, Mister, Doris, Darlene, Jarene, and Pa
"That Fine Mister" - Doris, Darlene, and Jarene
"Big Dog" - Mister, Celie, Young Harpo, Mister's Daughters, and Male Ensemble
"Lily of the Field" - Celie, Nettie, and Mister
"Dear God - Sofia" - Celie
"A Tree Named Sofia" - Doris, Darlene, and Jarene
"Hell No!" - Sofia, Celie, and Female Ensemble
"Brown Betty" - Harpo, Squeak, Celie, and Male Ensemble
"Shug Avery Comin' to Town" - Mister, Celie, and Ensemble
"All We've Got to Say" - Doris, Darlene, and Jarene
"Dear God - Shug" - Celie and Shug
"Too Beautiful for Words" - Shug
"Push Da Button" - Shug, Harpo, and Ensemble
"Uh-Oh!" - Sofia, Squeak, Celie, Buster, and Female Ensemble
"What About Love?" - Celie and Shug
"Act I Finale" - Orchestra, Shug, Celie, and Nettie
Act II
"African Homeland" - Nettie, Celie, and Ensemble
"The Color Purple" - Shug and Celie
"Church Ladies' Easter" - Doris, Darlene, Jarene, and Church Soloist
"I Curse You Mister" - Celie and Mister
"Mister's Song - Celie's Curse" - Mister
"Miss Celie's Pants" - Celie, Shug, Nettie, and Female Ensemble
"Any Little Thing" - Harpo and Sofia
"What About Love? (Reprise)" - Celie and Shug
"I'm Here" - Celie
"The Color Purple (Reprise)" - Celie, Nettie, and Company

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

Best Musical

Best Book of a Musical (Marsha Norman)

Best Music(and or) Lyrics Written for the Theater (Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray)

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (LaChanze, winner)

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Brandon Victor Dixon)

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Felica P. Fields, )

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Elizabeth Withers-Mendez)

Best Set Design of a Musical (John Lee Beatty)

Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Brian MacDevitt)

Best Choreography (Donald Byrd)

Outer Critics Circle Awards

Outstanding Broadway Musical

Outstanding New Score

Outstanding Set Design

Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical (LaChanze, nominee)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, nominee)

Drama League Award

Distinguished Production of a Musical

Distinguished Performance Award (Felicia P. Fields, nominee)

Distinguished Performance Award (LaChanze, nominee)

2006 Theatre World Award

Felicia P. Fields WINNER

Elisabeth Withers-Mendes WINNER

2007 Theatre World Awards

Fantasia Barrino WINNER

2007 Grammy Awards

Best Musical Show Album (nominee)

Response

Critical

The play had a very mixed response. Terry Teachout said the play is "best described as two hours and 45 minutes of high-priced phoniness." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the production a "rambunctious Broadway musical that knows how to push all of the audience response buttons." It continued, "Casting emphasized big and stirring singing voices rather than the ability to create characters." Remarking on the plays inclusion of much of the incidents in the novel, The New York Times said "this musical has an on-your-mark, get-set quality that promises that pages will be flying off the calendar as if in a tornado." The New Yorker remarked, "Overamplified, overheated, and overhyped, this noisy production is about presentation not penetration" and also called it "banal" and "strangely soulless."

Further Information

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