Review: 'The Color Purple' at PPAC, playing through May 31st

There is enough material in Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple for two complete and separate plays. Tony Kushner‘s Angels in America notwithstanding, that simply isn’t done.  The wealth of material that an audience expects from The Color Purple along with nearly 20 musical numbers means that Marsha Norman was compelled to craft a musical that races at warp speed; chunks of time peel away in the blink of an eye.

The audience takes a life journey with Celie (Kenita R. Miller) from age 14 as she comes of age in the rural south during Reconstruction.  After giving birth to two children that are fathered by her father and taken away, Celie is essentially sold into legal slavery when her father  bribes Mister (Rufus Bonds Jr.) with a cow if he will take her off his hands and stop asking to marry Nettie (LaToya London), Celie’s younger, prettier, sister.

Celie’s journey is a journey of, mostly, staying still and watching the world around her move.  Mister’s son Harpo (Brandon Victor Dixon) marries boisterously independent Sofia (Lynette DuPree).  Saloon singer Shug Avery (Angela Robinson), Mister’s on-and-off again mistress brings great joy and love into Celie’s hellish life.

I love Marsha Norman’s treatment of Walker’s novel.  The addition of The Church Ladies, a gaggle of middle-aged busybodies adds some much-needed light moments into this epic of struggle, survival and ultimately, redemption.  No one in the creative team loses sight of the original novel, even as they, by necessity, cheat on the details.

Quincy Jones wrote the music for the 1985 film and is one of a long list of producers (most notably Oprah Winfrey) of the musical.  It is unfortunate that none of his music, especially ‘Miss Celie's Blues’ shows up in this production.  Also missing is ‘Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'‘.  In their place are some lovely, but not unforgettable, ballads and duets.  Celie and Shug more deeply explore their mutual attraction and affection in ‘What About Love’ and Sofia gets a rousing anthem in ‘Hell No!’.

The most dramatic choreography unfolds as Celie reads her sister Nettie’s letters from Africa, which have been sent on a regular basis since Nettie took the journey with the local missionary, his wife and their two adopted children who are, in fact, Celie’s son Adam and daughter Oliva.  Celie uses her imagination about life in Africa and her imagination comes to life, for the audience to experience.

As Celie, Kenita R. Miller give a tremendous, emotionally rich and musically powerful performance.  There is no doubt, ever, that this is Celie’s story. From moment the curtain rises Miller casts a spell over the audience. 

Angela Robinson is a vision as the sexy, sultry, seductress Shug Avery. Shug is such a conundrum, both empathic and selfish, worldly yet vulnerable.  Robinson captures it all.

Completely the trio of unforgettable female characters, Lynette DuPree knocks you off your feet, literally, as the pre-feminist Sofia. 

Rufus Bonds, Jr. plays Mister with a murderous intensity.  This musical version delves much further into Mister’s redemption than the film version.  The ending, with Celie and Mister reconciled, sitting on the porch talking about Shug, the great love of each of their lives feels faithful to Walker’s novel.

This production boasts some really fine acting. This is a cast of actors who sing; not singers who can act. 

The Color Purple plays at The Providence Performing Arts (PPAC) through Sunday, May 31st with two shows on Saturday and Sunday.  Tickets range from $46-$73 and can be purchased at the PPAC box office which is located at 220 Weybosset St., Providence, RI or by phone at (401) 421-ARTS.  Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ppacri.org

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