Revolutionary, Divine, Paramount Musical: The Color Purple (Revival)

By: Alexa Franka

A book, movie, and musical, The Color Purple is a wonderful, educating piece of literature, but remains forgotten at times.

The Color Purple is a Pulitzer Prize-winning epistolary novel (book structured in letters) written by Alice Walker, an African American author and activist. The story is set in rural Georgia during the 1930s and revolves around the life of a young Black girl named Celie. In the novel, Walker takes readers through the journey of Celie’s self-discovery from a teen to an adult with topics about racism, faith, sexuality, gender inequality, sexual violence, and more. Throughout her journey, we are introduced to other characters such as Nettie (Celie’s sister), Shug Avery, and Sofia, who become crucial women in Celie’s life. Walker presents the hardships of being an African American woman through Celie and female characters.

Making its debut in December 2005, The Color Purple was transformed into a Broadway musical. With Gary Griffin directing and Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, and Scott Sanders producing, the musical ran until 2008. Then, The Color Purple reappeared in 2015 at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Directed by John Doyle, this production included a talented cast with Cynthia Erivo as Celie, Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery, and Danielle Brooks as Sofia. It is fair to say that Doyle's efforts, the cast, and others did the story justice.

The Color Purple features John Doyle’s simplistic direction, leading the musical to it’s magnificent production. John Doyle limits the set to a simple wooden backdrop with chairs attached to it and utilizes chairs as props as well. The stage directions given to the cast in each scene are also quite minimal. Despite its simplicity, Doyle’s direction requires the cast to be fully immersed in their characters. This results in a more raw and dramatic story where we can experience each character’s story arc.

Composed by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, the music is full of beautiful orchestrations and lyrics. It also features an exquisite album inspired by gospel, jazz, folk, and soul. Imagine having a cast full of powerhouse voices amplifying these well-written songs; that’s what happened with the 2015 revival. You have Jennifer Hudson, a famously versatile soul singer, belting out “Push Da Button”—a jazz-like, soulful tune—with her fierce voice and stage presence as Shug Avery. Alongside Jennifer Hudson, Danielle Brooks comes performing “Hell No!” with her impressively raspy, low and high register, showing the audience the independent woman Sofia is. Last but not least, Cynthia Erivo, a British actress and singer illustrating Celie’s character and liberation in unexplainable ways, mastering Celie like none other. Using her insane vocals and compelling acting, the famous soulful ballad “I’m Here” is where you would feel the story of the young girl who was once broken, transforming into the strong woman she was destined to be. Cynthia Erivo does just that.

Despite the positive recognition, I would not say The Color Purple receives the rightful attention it deserves. This isn’t only because of their album or the cast; it’s the tale it tells.

As mentioned earlier, Walker’s story covers important subjects which include racism and feminism. To this day, both issues remain prevalent and unsolved. The Black Lives Matter movement, at the moment, is becoming an even greater force with the ongoing police brutality and injustice against Black men and women. The Color Purple presents this injustice when Sofia is sent to jail and ferociously beaten up for “assaulting” the mayor. In reality, we continue to witness similar treatment toward the Black community to this day, highlighting that it is a problem. The novel may be fiction, but these instances do occur in real life. Apart from this, having a musical about a Black woman and her story is essential to many with the lack of representation the Black community receives. The actors and actresses in this musical never fail to exhibit pure talent and artistry. Hence, it proves, especially to the entertainment industry, that the Black community possesses gifts and voices worthy of being heard. The cast of The Color Purple consists of mostly Black characters portrayed by Black actors and actresses. Being represented unlocks dreams for many who were made to believe it was never going to happen, which is what The Color Purple does for Black people.

Feminism is another issue Walker enlightens us with. The female characters undergo traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse and violence. In every relationship portrayed in the narrative, women had to submit to men, while men were expected to be aggressive with their partners, since women were only acknowledged as objects of pleasures to men. Celie suffers through this expectation held in the 20th century. Some of Celie’s trauma is a result of being abused and raped by her father as well as a non-consensual, violent marriage. In addition to being forced into a marriage, Celie was separated from Nettie, who was her only confidant. All of these affairs erased her voice and sense of individuality until she met Shug Avery and Sofia. Not only are the two indispensable on Celie’s road to self-discovery, but they also personify feminism. Unlike the stereotypes presented to them at that time, both Shug and Sofia shattered gender stereotypes. For instance, Shug Avery was a wealthy and famous Black performer (unusual considering the year it sets in) who consistently avoided being a subordinate to any man. Sofia challenged and resisted the patriarchal system by asserting her independence and taking control of the household during her marriage. Having these tenacious women in Celie’s life relieved her from a long-term struggle, leading to her finding her identity and using her voice.

The Color Purple is a Broadway musical that is a personal favorite and I encourage other thespians or anyone to take an interest in it. For me, the whole production of the songs and issues discussed amplified my love for this musical. I fell in love with it when I discovered the revival in 2016 and came across Cynthia Erivo’s “I’m Here” performance (go find it on YouTube, you will not regret it). Ever since, the 2015 cast recording is one I come back to often. Some of my favorites, apart from “I’m Here,” would be “The Color Purple (Reprise),” “Opening/Mysterious Ways,” “Miss Celie’s Pants,” and “What About Love?” The story, the music, the characters, and the message come together to create The Color Purple—a distinguished show that leaves the audience speechless.

Sources

Brantley, Ben. “Review: 'The Color Purple' on Broadway, Stripped to Its Essence.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Dec. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/theater/review-the-color-purple-on-broadway-stripped-to-its-essence.html.

Green, Jesse. “Theater Review: The Color Purple Is One of the Greatest Revivals Ever.” Vulture, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2015, www.vulture.com/2015/12/theater-review-the-color-purple.html.