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."
Featuring an exceptional all-black cast led by Jennifer Hudson (in her Broadway debut), Danielle Brooks ('Orange Is the New Black') and English actress Cynthia Erivo, this marks one of the rare occasions where a musical's revival manages to outshine the original production...At first, Doyle's production comes off as overly mannered and limited in movement. But on the whole, it is far more dramatically charged and focused than the elaborate but undistinguished original production. This feels less like a revival than a revitalization, or a new musical altogether. Erivo credibly conveys Celie's 180-degree transformation in personality. The big-voiced Brooks burns with ferocity while slipping into moments of good humor. Hudson is fully authoritative and altogether fantastic in the diva role. Johnson has both a crisp edge and the air of a broken man.
Speaking of commodity musicals, 'The Color Purple,' first seen on Broadway 10 years ago, is now being revived there in a brand-new production directed by John Doyle and imported from the Menier Chocolate Factory, one of London's trendiest venues. Any way you stage it, the musical version of the film version of Alice Walker's novel is an exercise in treacly feel-good sentimentality, but Mr. Doyle's scaled-down, ruthlessly cut version makes the best possible case for 'The Color Purple.' He has turned it into a concert-style let-us-tell-you-a-story show whose only set pieces are wooden chairs and woven baskets, in the process stripping away all the whiz-bang aspects of Gary Griffin's 2005 staging, which now appear in retrospect to have obscured the virtues (such as they are) of 'The Color Purple.'
| 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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