Broadway Review: ‘The Color Purple’ with Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Brooks
9 / 10
The ladies wear the pants in John Doyle's ravishing revival of 'The Color Purple.' Jennifer Hudson is radiant as the love machine Shug Avery. Danielle Brooks shakes the house as the earthy Sofia. And Cynthia Erivo, the tiny pint of dynamite who originated the role at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, brings the audience roaring to its feet as Celie...All three performers are making their Broadway debuts, which makes it all the more thrilling. In a feat of reverse magic, Doyle's minimalist production maximizes the strength and beauty of Marsha Norman's book...Both the beauty and the brains of the score are evident in the fact that each character's signature song belongs only to that character.

