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."
A sleek, vastly improved and altogether wonderful revival of 'The Color Purple' opened Thursday at Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre...under John Doyle's new, inspired direction the musical emerges as one of the most adult shows ever written...Four women is a lot for a musical, and in that original production the focus on Celie...sometimes got lost. The new 'Color Purple' never loses sight of its Celie, and Doyle keeps the show revolving around the stunning performance of Cynthia Erivo in the role. She isn't better than LaChanze, Erivo is just different -- very grounded, less impish and adorable. Her more naturalistic approach roots the show, and that's needed because Doyle's minimalism here is very fanciful...Erivo dominates, as she must. But it's a real contest between her and Danielle Brooks' big-voiced, full-bodied Sofie...Jennifer Hudson, in her Broadway debut, brings star presence to the role of Celie's fickle lover, Shug Avery...Here is another big, rich voice, and it is entirely apt that Hudson should be showy with her overuse of melisma.
While actors doubling as the orchestra, the concept Doyle is best known for, is eschewed here, his other frequently used techniques - staging that limits personal connections between characters and production values that don't clearly communicate locations - are out in full force. Granted, this production originated at London's modestly-sized Menier Chocolate Factory, so a bit of scaling down is to be expected, but the orchestrations could at least be restored to their original 18 pieces instead of remaining at six.
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