The Color Purple - Broadway Creative Team

Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Born on September 21, 1947, in Louisville, Kentucky, Norman grew up in a family of women who were all storytellers. Her mother, sister, and grandmother all shared a love of literature and storytelling, which inspired Norman to pursue a career in writing. Norman attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where she earned a degree in philosophy in 1969. After graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in writing. She worked odd jobs to support herself while she wrote plays and submitted them to theaters. Norman's breakthrough came in ... read more Regina Annette Taylor is an American actress and playwright. She has won several awards throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award. In July 2017, Taylor was announced as the new Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theater at Fordham University. Jonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer. Tunick’s stage career began with Take Five (1957). He went on to collaborate memorably with Stephen Sondheim, orchestrating shows such as Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Passion, and Putting It Together. Additional notable Broadway credits include Promises, Promises; A Chorus Line; Nick & Nora; A Funny Thing...; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Nine; A Gentleman’s Guide...; and 110 in the Shade. In 1997, he won his first Tony Award, for his work on the musical Titanic. This accomplishment gave ... read more Broadway design credits include: The Addams Family, Rock of Ages, West Side Story (Revival), Bye Bye Bye Birdie, Dreamgirls (National Tour); Memphis, Gypsy (with Patti LuPone), 9 to 5 (Mark Taper Forum and Broadway), Young Frankenstein (Broadway and National Tour), The Little Mermaid, The Royal Family, After Miss Julie, Accent on Youth, Guys and Dolls (Revival), 33 Variations, Pal Joey, A Catered Affair, Minsky’s (Pre-Broadway/Mark Taper Forum), Curtains, Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (Broadway and National Tour), Sunday In The Park With George, Company, Sweeney Todd, Dangerous Liaisons, The Ritz, Cymbeline, The Country Girl (Frances McDormand), The New ... read more STEVEN BARGONETTI: (Guitarist/Composer) Steven is a graduate of Columbia University. Most recently was onstage performer/Music Director/Arranger for the critically acclaimed play, Father Comes Home From The Wars by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks. He recently played guitar/guitar synthesizer for the Broadway show Holler if Ya Hear Me featuring the music of Tupac Shakur. As lead guitarist for HAIR on Broadway, Steven was featured playing the Jimi Hendrix archetype. He is also an alumnus of numerous other Broadway shows, including The Color Purple, Caroline or Change, The Full Monty, Starlight Express, Hello Dolly, etc. Steven can be ... read more Broadway: Venus in Fur, Time Stands Still, A View from the Bridge, The Royal Family, The Color Purple, Doubt, Chicago, Dinner at Eight, Proof, Rabbit Hole, Last Night of Ballyhoo, A Delicate Balance, The Heiress, The Most Happy Fella, The Sisters Rosensweig, Burn This, Penn & Teller, Ain't Misbehavin', Talley's Folly, Crimes of the Heart, Morning's at Seven, among others. Off-Broadway: Other Desert Cities, The Substance of Fire, A Life in the Theatre. Thirty-six seasons with MTC, Lincoln Center, Circle Rep, City Center Encores! Tony, Obie, DD, OCC awards; Theatre Hall of Fame. Graduate of Brown and Yale School of ... read more Shelton Becton's Broadway credits include Baby It's You, Shuffle Along, Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, and The Color Purple. Training: Brown University. Theatre includes Broadway: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Original Broadway Company, Frozen, Rocky, Wicked, Ghost, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Memphis, The Little Mermaid, The Color Purple, The Frogs, The Lion King, The Producers. Regional: Joan of Arc: Into The Fire (Public Theater), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (St. Michael’s Playhouse), The Last Goodbye (Old Globe), The C.A. Lyons Project (Alliance Theater). Television includes “The Wendy Williams Show” (Barbados Billy), “The Wiz Live!” (NBC), “Peter Pan Live!” (NBC), “The Mysteries of Laura” (NBC), “Forever” (ABC), “Mr. Robot” (USA), “The Get Down” (Netflix). Film includes Monogamish, Love ... read more Donald Byrd has been the artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater, a dance company and school based in Seattle, since 2002. Lisa Dawn Cave is a stage manager who has worked on The Lion King, Frozen, Fun Home, Aladdin, West Side Story, and more. Credits include Evita, The Book of Mormon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Seminar. Recent productions: House of Blue Leaves, West Side Story, La Bete, Come Fly Away, Ragtime, Gypsy, The Color Purple, Spamalot. Co-founded the investment firm Furman Selz, currently vice chairman Jeffries & Company. Vice chairman of Lincoln Center, Chairman emeritus of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, vice president NY City Opera. Broadway: War Paint, Groundhog Day, Fool for Love, Act One, Venus in Fur, God of Carnage, Long Day's Journey Into Night (with Redgrave and Hoffman), Exit the King, numerous others. Off-Broadway: Public, LCT3, Signature, Playwrights Horizons, others. Regional/international: Goodman, Westport, Two River Theater, Williamstown, others. Royal National, Royal Shakespeare Company. Film/TV: numerous. Faculty: Juilliard. The Nederlander Organization is a company prominent for three generations in the ownership of theatres and the production of distinguished theatrical and concert presentations. Founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, Michigan, the company is one of the largest and most experienced managers of legitimate venues and entertainment properties in America today. Quincy Jones is a legendary musician, composer, and producer who has had a significant impact on the music industry for over six decades. Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones began his career as a jazz trumpeter and quickly established himself as a talented musician. He went on to become a prolific composer and arranger, working with some of the biggest names in music. Jones got his start in the music industry in the 1950s, working as a trumpet player and arranger with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. In the early 1960s, he moved to Paris and began working ... read more Jan Kallish is a multi-talented performer who has graced both the Broadway stage and the small screen. Born and raised in New York City, Kallish developed a love for the performing arts at a young age. She began her formal training at the High School of Performing Arts, where she honed her skills in acting, singing, and dancing. After graduating from high school, Kallish continued her training at the prestigious Juilliard School. There, she studied under some of the most renowned teachers in the industry and further developed her craft. It wasn't long before Kallish began making a name for herself ... read more Broadway: Memphis, 33 Variations, Guys and Dolls, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, The Color Purple, Martin Short: Fame . . .,Good Vibrations, The Apple Tree, A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Lieutenant of Inishmoor, Radio Golf, Sight Unseen, Cymbeline, Henry IV, The Rivals, Xanadu, and Superior Donuts. Jersey Boys U.S. tour, Chicago, Las Vegas Toronto, London, and Melbourne. The Color Purple national tour, Xanadu national tour, and In The Heights national tour. Many Off-Broadway and regional credits. The 70 plus shows he designed lighting for on Broadway include Death of a Salesman, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and directed by Mike Nichols, The Book of Mormon (Tony Award), The Coast of Utopia, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Fences, A Behanding in Spokane, Race, The Pillowman, Urinetown, and Into the Woods. In addition to 5 TONYs, his awards include an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, a Bessie Award, and others. For dance, The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Tere O’Connor Dance, Merce Cunningham, Lar Lubovitch, Nancy Bannon, and many others. His ... read more IPN members bring Broadway productions to more than 110 cities through North America and Japan. Recent Broadway, London, U.S. and international tours include Monty Python's Spamalot, The Color Purple, Throughly Modern Millie, Bombay Dreams, Starlight Express, The King and I and Edward Scissorhands. Marsha Norman is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Born on September 21, 1947, in Louisville, Kentucky, Norman grew up in a family of women who were all storytellers. Her mother, sister, and grandmother all shared a love of literature and storytelling, which inspired Norman to pursue a career in writing. Norman attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where she earned a degree in philosophy in 1969. After graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in writing. She worked odd jobs to support herself while she wrote plays and submitted them to theaters. Norman's breakthrough came in ... read more Arthur Siccardi was a Production Manager, Technical Supervisor, and Production Supervisor with countless Broadway credits. He worked on shows such as Chicago, La Cage Aux Folles, Billy Elliot, Grease, A Chorus Line, The Color Purple, Gypsy, Mamma Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, Annie Get Your Gun, and many more. Kevin Stites is currently serving as Principal Conductor at Radio City Music Hall for their new show Heart And Lights. Most recently he was Music Director/Conductor for The 25th Anniversary Concert Performance of Crazy For You, with members of the original Broadway cast, and a 250 voice choir with the New York City Chamber Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. Last fall he served as Music Director/Pianist for Deborah Voigt’s Voigt Lessons, presented by the Celebrity Series in Boston. He also conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in concert with Kristin Chenoweth, as well ... read more Training: Cork Arts Studio Stageworks and Arts Educational Schools, London. Credits while training include: Lucas in The Addams Family, ensemble and Dr. Wanamaker in Catch Me if You Can and George in Sunday in the Park with George. Theatre includes: Matthew Mugg in Dr Doolittle (No.1 UK Tour), Blake in Bat Out of Hell The Musical (original cast), Caboose in Starlight Express (The Other Palace), on-stage swing in The Wind in The Willows (UK Tour), George in Carrie The Musical (Southwark Playhouse), The Beast in Beauty and the Beast (Cork Opera House), Featured Soloist in Bernstein of Stage and Screen (National ... read more Costume designer Paul Tazewell's recent achievements include winning an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for his work on Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu and featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. This accolade was accompanied by a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design, a Critics Choice Award, the Costume Designers Guild's Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film award, NAACP Image Award and the Innovator Award from the African American Film Critics Association, underscoring his critical role in bringing the fantastical world of Oz to life. Additional accolades include an Academy Award nomination for West Side Story in 2021, an Emmy for ... read more The Alliance Theatre, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the most respected regional theaters in the United States. Founded in 1968, the theater has been a staple of the Atlanta arts scene for over 50 years. The Alliance is known for producing world-class theater productions, as well as providing education and outreach programs to the community. The Alliance Theatre has a long history of producing groundbreaking theater productions. In 1978, the theater produced the world premiere of "The Robber Bridegroom," a musical by Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman. The show went on to have a successful Broadway run and was ... read more Orchestrations: Memphis: A New Musical (Broadway), Jelly's Last Jam, Street Corner Symphony, Bring in 'Da Noise/Bring in 'Da Funk (Broadway), and Miracle Brothers (Off-Broadway) Dance music arrangements: The Color Purple (Broadway). Music supervision/arrangements: A Civil War Christmas, Turn of the Century (Regional). Music direction: The Seven, The Colored Museum (Off-Broadway/Regional). Original music: ...Noise/...Funk (Tony/Grammy nominations), Drowning Crow (Broadway), Blue Door, In Real Life (Off-Broadway), Magnolia, Crowns, and The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove (Regional). Longtime music director for Eartha Kitt. Paris and West End: An American in Paris. West End: Thoroughly Modern Millie; Rent; The Who’s Tommy. Broadway design credits include: Prince of Broadway; She Loves Me; Amazing Grace; An American in Paris; On the 20th Century; You Can’t Take It With You; The Bridges of Madison County; How to Succeed in Business…; The Color Purple; Caroline, or Change; Nine; The Green Bird; Thoroughly Modern Millie. Off-Broadway and Regional: Paradise Square (Berkeley Rep); Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Papermill Playhouse); Footloose (Kennedy Center); Scotland, PA (Roundabout); Evita (Bay Street); Grey Gardens (Bay Street); The Last Five Years (Second ... read more J. Steven White (Stage Combat and Competitive Fencing) begins his 33rd year of teaching for NYU Tisch’s Graduate Acting Program. His fight direction has graced the stages of every major New York Theater, including the Manhattan Theater Club, Classic Stage Company, Playwrights Horizons, The Roundabout Theater Company, and the Irish Repertory Theatre. He has worked at many of the nation’s regional theaters, including eleven seasons at American Conservatory Theatre, where he began his teaching career 50 years ago. His Broadway credits include The Color Purple, Uncle Vanya, A View From the Bridge, The Lion in Winter, All My Sons, as well ... read more Oprah Winfrey is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011 in Chicago. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African American of the 20th century and North America's first black multi-billionaire, and has been ranked the greatest black philanthropist in American history. She has also been sometimes ranked as the most influential woman in the world.