See it on Broadway through January 8th only. The Color Purple is the 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Musical Revival. Best Actress Tony Award winner CYNTHIA ERIVO ("an incandescent new star" says The New York Times) leads a powerhouse cast in this epic story of a young woman’s journey to love and joy in the American South. Joining her is Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway legend JENNIFER HOLLIDAY (Dreamgirls). Tony winner JOHN DOYLE directs.
Don't miss two of Broadway's most powerful performers together on one stage in this Tony-winning triumph that New York Magazine calls "one of the greatest revivals ever."
Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph that New York Magazine calls "one of the greatest revivals ever."
In the glorious Broadway revival of The Color Purple (* * * * out of four stars)...leading lady Cynthia Erivo -- remember the name, because you'll be hearing more of it -- speaks mostly in a low, wry voice. 'Speaks' would be the operative word here, because when Erivo raises that voice in song, it soars with a force that seems almost supernatural, but is also distinctly, piercingly human...In Purple, the director confronted a less cohesive score...with lyrics that, like Marsha Norman's book, can flirt with platitudes. Those words and music remain, but under Doyle's guidance...they seem reborn. Melodies float and swing in more R&B-savvy arrangements, providing showcases for the extravagantly gifted singer/actors featured here...The Color Purple is ultimately a story of redemption, and Doyle and his cast do a miraculous job of capturing that essence, down to its spiritual core, without getting preachy or mawkish.
For once, the word 'revival' is apt: Doyle's intervention amounts to a kind of theatrical CPR, restarting the heart of a show that, in its original production, seemed to die before your eyes...Of course it takes actors who have the subtlety to work at this level...The paradoxical result is a far greater range; the show is not constantly hitting the ceiling. Erivo...proves especially masterful at calibrating the gradations of Celie's emergence, from a kind of dull curiosity when she meets Shug Avery, to the suppressed rage of her nascent rebellion against Mister, to the exquisite shy smile that breaks across her face when she allows herself to believe she is beautiful, to the full sunburst of pleasure that success (as a seamstress) finally affords her. By the time she gets to her 11 o'clock number...you may feel you have seen as great and full a transformation as any previously put on the musical stage.
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