The Color Purple Shatters Broadway Theatre House Record

Broadway's smash hit musical The Color Purple, now starring Fantasia, had its best 8-show week ever, shattering the house record at the Broadway Theatre, grossing $1,183,722.56 for the week ending April 15, 2007, its 76th week on Broadway. 

The show previously broke the Broadway Theatre's house record, on June 18, 2006, grossing $1,102,943.00, besting La Boheme'sprevious mark of $1,013,328.00 and then broke its own record the following two weeks.

The Color Purple, which celebrated its 571st Performance on Broadway Sunday, April 15, 2007, began previews on November 1, 2005 and opened on December 1, 2005.  The musical has grossed, to date, a total of over $69 million in ticket sales, and over 932,000 audience members from across the country and around the world have seen the musical.

The first North American Tour of the show begins previews at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre on Tuesday, April 17, 2007.

Directed by Gary Griffin, The Color Purple features a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning composers/lyricists Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

The show is produced on Broadway by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Quincy Jones, Creative Battery, Anna Fantaci & Cheryl Lachowicz, Independent Presenters Network, Lowy Family Group, Stephanie McClelland, Gary Winnick, Jan Kallish, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Harvey Weinstein, Andrew Asnes and Adam Zotovich and Todd Johnson.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd. - Fantasia Barrino at The Color Purple curtain call