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."
What a difference a director makes...Rather than rehashing the drama, Doyle has reconceived 'The Color Purple' as a communal meditation on a modern American myth. The result...is a spiritually transcendent theatricalization of the tale that had me silently shouting 'hallelujah' and 'amen.' Doyle is aided by a glorious female cast. Jennifer Hudson, who plays Shug Avery, has been brought in for the Broadway production for box office mojo. But luscious as her singing and stage presence are, she's not the star here. Front and center is the London-trained Cynthia Erivo as Celie...Relatively unheralded, she brings stark humanity -- and an astonishing voice -- to the role of the abused young woman dismissed as ugly and worthless who somehow manages to persevere long enough to have her radiant light recognized. It's hard to imagine that Erivo's heart-stirring Broadway debut, a portrayal that derives enormous power from humility, won't be recognized once award season arrives.
Genuine showstoppers rarely happen in the musical theater, especially in the middle of an act. But when they do, something happens -- maybe to the air pressure in the lungs of theatergoers -- which seems to buoy whole groups of disparate audiences to their feet. It happened at a recent preview of 'The Color Purple' and, chances are, it's happening every night. Edging toward the finale of the show, Cynthia Erivo, a British actress in her thrilling Broadway debut, lays into a song...full of defiant realization for her character Celie after a lifetime of insult, drudgery and self-sacrifice...Director John Doyle's passionate, scaled-down, streamlined, low-frills revival of the 2005 musical adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer-winning novel is not priming us for big musical-theater gestures. And Erivo, who also played Celie in Doyle's hit London reduction, exquisitely paces the understated character through 40 tumultuous years of male-dominated, post-slavery African-American culture.
| 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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