Brittney Mack, Aeriel Williams and More to Star in THE COLOR PURPLE at Goodman Theatre
The Color Purple appears June 21 – July 27 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 20, 2025
The Color Purple is set to take the stage of the Goodman’s Albert Theatre this summer. Lili-Anne Brown 21-member company is led by Chicago talent—including Brittney Mack (Broadway’s SIX The Musical) as Celie; Aeriel Williams (The Color Purple National Tour) as Shug Avery; Evan Tyrone Martin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at Writers Theater) as Mister; Nicole Michelle Haskins (Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3 at The Goodman) as Sofia, Gilbert Domally (Choir Boy at Steppenwolf) as Harpo; Shantel Renee Cribbs (Dreamgirls at Paramount) as Nettie; Daryn Whitney Harrell (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at The Goodman) as Squeak; and more, a full cast list appears below—in this story of a young woman’s perilous journey of personal awakening in the American South.
Music Director Jermaine Hill and Choreographer Breon Arzell evoke the music and movement of the early 1900s. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker with a book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The Color Purple appears June 21 – July 27 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre.
"This show is an absolute celebration of women, how we as women protect and empower one another and ourselves,” said director Lili-Anne Brown. “It's about a woman's relationship with her sister, her community, her children, her lover, herself and, ultimately, the Divine. The right time for this piece is always ‘right now.’ I’m thrilled to return to it at the Goodman, in the heart of downtown Chicago, for our revival this summer with this truly fabulous cast of top-tier talent."
A Chicago South Side native, Ms. Brown works as a director, actor and educator, and has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows in Chicago and nationally. Recent directing credits include: The Nacirema Society…, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play and the world premieres of Ike Holter’s I Hate It Here and Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre); Two Trains Running (The Acting Company, Nat’l Tour), Dreamgirls (McCarter Theater and Goodspeed Musicals), FELA! (Olney Theater), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Huntington Theatre), Ain’t No Mo’ (Woolly Mammoth and Baltimore CenterStage), Waitress, Rent and The Color Purple (The Muny), Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Acoustic Rooster...(Kennedy Center and Nat’l Tour), Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse). She is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she focused programming on Chicago-premiere musicals and new play development with resident playwrights. She has received 2 Helen Hayes Awards, 5 Jeff Awards, 2 BTA awards and one African American Arts Alliance Award for excellence in directing. She is an inaugural recipient of the Walder Foundation’s Platform Award and a 2021 recipient of the 3Arts Award for Theatre. She is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and a graduate of Northwestern University.
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