The Color Purple at Joburg Theatre

Joburg Theatre and producer Bernard Jay are proud to announce the ‘Bon Voyage’ Season of the musical The Color Purple, on the stage of The Mandela at Joburg Theatre prior to the all-South African company taking its acclaimed production on a tour of Europe and Asia.

“This is a very special occasion for us at Joburg Theatre and for the City of Joburg itself,” says CEO of Joburg City Theatres, Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema. “The all-South African creative team and cast will be flying the flag for Joburg when they take this glorious production internationally in 2020. The requests from our patrons for a return season on The Mandela stage following the two sold-out seasons in 2018 have been so numerous that we are delighted to present this uplifting and empowering musical once again as a ‘bon voyage’ treat before it travels”.

The musical The Color Purple, based on the novel written by Alice Walker and the Warner Bros/Amblin Entertainment motion picture, has a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

Renowned, award-winning director Janice Honeyman has received high praise for her production since its South African premiere took place on The Nelson Mandela stage of Joburg Theatre on February 4th 2018. Jennifer Platt, writing in the Sunday Times, said of the production “You know you are watching transcending theatre when there is that kind of interaction ending with a ten-minute standing ovation” and leading arts journalist Diane de Beer wrote “The Color Purple is Bold, Black and Beautiful. As a musical, it is the perfect storm for right now. It’s musical heaven”.

The 2018 Color Purple season received 13 Naledi Award nominations. The Naledi Theatre Awards have been in existence for 15 years and are recognised as the Premier Awards Event on the Gauteng Theatre Calendar.

Authors

• Alice Walker
• Allee Willis
• Amblin Entertainment Inc.
• Brenda Russell
• Marsha Norman
• Regina Taylor
• Stephen Bray
• Warner Brothers

Tony Awards and Nominations for The Color Purple