Alice Walker News

Just before its first preview tomorrow night, November 10, THE COLOR PURPLE has announced its rush ticket policy.

The Color Purple begins preview performances tonight, November 10, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street). Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe award winner JENNIFER HUDSON will make her Broadway debut opposite CYNTHIA ERIVO, the breakout star of John Doyle's acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production, and Orange is the New Black's DANIELLE BROOKS, in this fall's highly anticipated production.

Not all books are promoted equally, but no matter the time and money spent, there are always surprises. We recently spoke to Wendy Sheanin, v-p, director of marketing at Simon & Schuster, about two debut novels--neither was a lead title, but booksellers turned them into bestsellers.

The Color Purple begins preview performances this coming Tuesday, November 10 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street). Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe award winner JENNIFER HUDSON will make her Broadway debut opposite CYNTHIA ERIVO, the breakout star of John Doyle's acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production, and Orange is the New Black's DANIELLE BROOKS, in this fall's highly anticipated production. All three women will be making their Broadway debuts.

Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, THE COLOR PURPLE, will be published in a new tie-in edition featuring the show artwork for the upcoming Broadway musical revival.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Keira Knightley makes her Broadway debut in THERESE RAQUIN, opening tonight!

Over the past few decades, many have bemoaned the rash of movies adapted for the Broadway stage, claiming that the theatre had lost its sense of creativity and enginuity. Some of these movie adaptations have gone on to have successful, award-winning runs (THE PRODUCERS and THE 39 STEPS to name a few), while many, many others have, simply, not. However, long before the stage looked to the screen as a source for new works, the inspiration for many of the theatre's best shows came from the pages of some of the world's best books; like THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, or the longest running show in Broadway history, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

The box office for the highly anticipated production of THE COLOR PURPLE will open on Tuesday, October 6 at 10:00am at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street). 

The Alliance Theatre's production of A STEADY RAIN, a contemporary crime drama by writer and producer Keith Huff (Mad Men, American Crime), is directed by Steppenwolf Theatre co-founder Jeff Perry (who currently plays White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene on ABC's SCANDAL). A STEADY RAIN runs on the Hertz Stage at the Alliance Theatre now thorugh October 11, 2015. Opening night is tonight, September 23, 2015.

The Alliance Theatre's production of A STEADY RAIN, a contemporary crime drama by writer and producer Keith Huff (Mad Men, American Crime), is being directed by Steppenwolf Theatre co-founder Jeff Perry (who currently plays White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene on ABC's SCANDAL). A STEADY RAIN runs on the Hertz Stage at the Alliance Theatre tonight, September 18 - October 11, 2015. Opening night is Wednesday, September 23, 2015.

Now that Labor Day is over, Broadway is officially gearing up for its upcoming Fall season, which is set to include a slew of Broadway debuts, starry revivals, and exciting new projects. In anticipation of the incoming theatre slate, the New York Times invited some special Broadway guests to perform at their 2015 Fall Preview, hosted at 54 Below.

Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Erivo perform the title song from the upcoming Broadway revival of THE COLOR PURPLE.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that The Alliance Theatre's upcoming production of A STEADY RAIN, a contemporary crime drama by writer and producer Keith Huff (Mad Men, American Crime), will be directed by Steppenwolf Theatre co-founder Jeff Perry (who currently plays White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene on ABC's SCANDAL).

It was revealed today that musician/singer/songwriter/actor Chan Marshall (also known as Cat Power)  will be the voice narrating the upcoming Janis Joplin documentary “Janis” from Academy Award-nominated director Amy Berg (“Deliver Us From Evil,” “West of Memphis”). The documentary will have its much anticipated World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival where it was just selected to screen out of competition.

Produced by Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Oprah Winfrey, David Babani, and Tom Siracusa, The Color Purple will return to Broadway this fall in the acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production directed by Two-time Tony Award winner John Doyle. The highly anticipated staging will feature Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe award winner JENNIFER HUDSON; CYNTHIA ERIVO, the breakout star from the London production; and Orange is the New Black's DANIELLE BROOKS. All three women will be making their Broadway debuts. Tickets are now available! Can't wait until the show returns to Broadway this fall? Get your Color Purple fix today with a free download of 'Too Beautiful for Words,' performed by Jennifer Hudson. CLICK HERE to download the song now!

Tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE will be available Monday, June 22, 2015, exclusively for Audience Rewards members, who get first access to tickets by visiting www.AudienceRewards.com. Single tickets go on-sale to the general public beginning Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo and Danielle Brooks are set to make their Broadway debuts in the critically acclaimed staging of The Color Purple, as performed at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2013. Directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, The Color Purple will begin preview performances on Monday, November 9th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street) and will officially open on Thursday, December 10. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge just met with the three leading ladies, plus their director John Doyle, to chat about the upcoming production. Check out what they had to say about their new roles below!

DANIELLE BROOKS, who plays 'Taystee' on the hit TV show, Orange Is the New Black, will make her Broadway debut as 'Sofia' in the upcoming Broadway musical revival of THE COLOR PURPLE. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Ms. Brooks joins the previously announced JENNIFER HUDSON and CYNTHIA ERIVO in the critically acclaimed staging from London's Menier Chocolate Factory.