Review: THE COLOR PURPLE at Goodman Theatre

The Goodman concludes its 99th season with the musical revival featuring a 29-member company of many Chicago musical theater all-stars

THE COLOR PURPLE THE MUSICAL is a portrait of Celie, a young Black woman living in a small Georgia town, as she goes on a journey of pain, resilience, and self-discovery. With direction by Lili-Anne Brown, music direction by Jermaine HIll, and choreography by Breon Arzell, Goodman Theatre’s revival of the 2004 musical based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning-novel takes audiences along for Celie’s emotional story. 

Brittney Mack is tremendous in the lead role. I’m familiar with Mack from her role as Anna of Cleves in SIX, which she originated in the U.S. premiere here in Chicago and then on Broadway. That role was loudly ferocious. For Celie, Mack taps into a quiet ferocity. She’s no less bold or powerful, but this role needs a more subtle approach — and Mack delivers. Mack lends Celie a gentle tenacity as she endures abuse first at the hands of her father (by whom she believes she has borne, and then lost, two children — all by the age of 14) and then at the hands of her husband Mister. The show spans from 1911 to 1945, as we watch Celie grow into her identity and self-confidence— in part thanks to the other strong women around her. Mack gorgeously plays this arc; she captures Celie’s underlying sadness and rage, and carefully chooses her moments to fully reveal them. 

Mack’s in good company with an all-star Chicago cast. I enjoyed the work immensely of the 21-member cast and eight-piece orchestra, though Brown’s pacing for this already long show is leisurely. If I’m honest, it’s a little too leisurely. The first act is long, but the slower pacing is felt more so in the second act. The latter half has long stretches of Marsha Norman’s book with fewer songs from composer/lyricist team Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray to break it up. The first half of act two needed to pick up the pace, especially because then it comes rushing into the finale as Celie’s story comes to the end.

But the individual performances are magnificent. As Celie’s sister Nettie, Shantel Renee Cribbs is clarion-voiced and has Disney princess energy — she represents a light in the storm for Celie, even when the two are brutally torn apart when Nettie refuses the sexual advances of Mister. Evan Tyrone Martin often plays men with hearts of gold — the abusive Mister is a real departure, but he makes it believable. And Martin really leans into the character’s shades of gray, particularly in his second act solo “Mister’s Song, “ a soliloquy that recalls Judd Fry’s “Lonely Room” from OKLAHOMA! 

THE COLOR PURPLE has a pretty, but not always memorable, score. That said, it gives the vocalists many stand-out moments. Nicole Michelle Haskins is convincingly domineering as Sofia, married to Mister’s son Harpo (Gilbert Domally, always a joy onstage). In her solo “Hell No,” she tells Celie that men’s abuse doesn’t need to dictate her life. Aerie Williams is wistful and flighty as Shug Avery, a notorious nightclub singer who makes a real impression on Celie. Williams’s Shug really seems to have her head in the clouds. Lachrisa Grandberry, Sharriese Hamilton, and Reneisha Jenkins are wonderful as the Olinkan Wives, the show’s surrogate Greek chorus, who deliver bits of town gossip in delectable harmony. 

Mack remains the central star — but she’s a generous scene partner and doesn’t detract from her fellow actors. Mack plays Celie’s emotional arc and growth gorgeously. And, of course, she can sing like no other. Celie’s 11 o’clock number “I’m Here” is both vocal Olympics and a vulnerable, emotional turn from Mack. She’s a wonder to behold; Mack truly has us believe in that moment that Celie has gone from years of feeling downtrodden and worthless to accepting herself and her own beauty. The show’s finale is equally stirring. Though THE COLOR PURPLE has a fair share of tragedy, the ending is heartwarming, celebratory, and puts a pin in Celie’s story — and with Mack at the lead, this musical makes that range of emotions land. 

THE COLOR PURPLE plays the Albert Theatre at Goodman Theatre through August 3, 2025. Tickets are $33-$143 (subject to change).

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