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."
You won't find much actual purple in The Color Purple, John Doyle's simplified restaging of the formerly florid Broadway musical. At one point the nightclub singer Shug (Jennifer Hudson, making her Broadway debut) steps onstage in a periwinkle suit, but that's the closest the production comes to flamboyance. A restrained expansion of the production Doyle debuted at theMenier Chocolate Factory in London in 2013; this version is streamlined and stripped down. Doyle's strategy allows the fine performances, particularlyCynthia Erivo as the downtrodden Celie, to brighten it up.
A sleek, vastly improved and altogether wonderful revival of 'The Color Purple' opened Thursday at Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre...under John Doyle's new, inspired direction the musical emerges as one of the most adult shows ever written...Four women is a lot for a musical, and in that original production the focus on Celie...sometimes got lost. The new 'Color Purple' never loses sight of its Celie, and Doyle keeps the show revolving around the stunning performance of Cynthia Erivo in the role. She isn't better than LaChanze, Erivo is just different -- very grounded, less impish and adorable. Her more naturalistic approach roots the show, and that's needed because Doyle's minimalism here is very fanciful...Erivo dominates, as she must. But it's a real contest between her and Danielle Brooks' big-voiced, full-bodied Sofie...Jennifer Hudson, in her Broadway debut, brings star presence to the role of Celie's fickle lover, Shug Avery...Here is another big, rich voice, and it is entirely apt that Hudson should be showy with her overuse of melisma.
| 2004 | New York |
Reading New York |
| 2004 |
World Premiere |
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| 2005 | New York |
Workshop New York |
| 2005 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2007 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 2015 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
| 2017 | US Tour |
Revival National Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | John Doyle |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical | Jane Cox |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Catherine Jayes |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Joseph Joubert |
| 2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | The Color Purple |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Cynthia Erivo |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jennifer Hudson |
| 2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | The Color Purple |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
| 2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or off-Broadway) | The Color Purple |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | John Doyle |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
| 2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Color Purple |
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