‘The Color Purple’ reinvented in revival

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Cynthia Erivo & Joaquina Kalukango. Photo: Matthew Murphy

THE COLOR PURPLE
Based upon the novel by Alice Walker
Book by Marsha Norman
Music & lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis & Stephen Bray
Directed by John Doyle
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
245 W. 45th St.
(212-239-6200), http://colorpurple.com/

By Scott Harrah

Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel The Color Purple was a tricky classic to adapt for the screen and stage. Steven Spielberg did a superb job making the story into a film, but the Broadway musical adaptation a decade ago, despite 11 Tony Award nominations in 2006 (including a win for LaChanze for Best Actress in a Musical as Celie), was considered too lavish and overdone by some critics. So it is truly amazing what British director John Doyle—who brought us all those gimmicky Stephen Sondheim revivals of Company and Sweeney Todd, featuring actors doubling as musicians, playing instruments—has accomplished. This revival, which originated at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, is a total reinvention of the musical, with no real sets other than a wooden backdrop with chairs. In addition, British actress Cynthia Erivo, as the lead character Celie, gives the most-talked-about performance of the 2015/2016 season, stealing the show in virtually every scene with her emotionally exhausting, virtuoso portrayal of the poor, awkward-looking, downtrodden young African-American girl in rural 1930s Georgia.

Mr. Doyle has taken a complicated saga (the novel was written in Southern black slang as letters to God) and Marsha Norman’s bloated Broadway book adaptation and pared everything down to its bare bones, and this simply works beautifully. Fortunately, Mr. Doyle has moved away from the days of making actors play instruments and here focuses on what he does best. He streamlines this blockbuster musical, snips away the fat, and keeps the emotional content intact.

One doesn’t need to be familiar with the book or movie to understand the basic plot, but in a nutshell, Marsha Norman’s original script skips over a lot of the story’s details. Celie is 14 when we first meet her, pregnant, and is soon forced to marry Mister (Isaiah Johnson), a man who beats her. He separates from her sister Nettie (Joaquina Kalukango). The Color Purple is a tale of black women overcoming domineering, abusive men and insurmountable odds despite race and gender, and Mr. Doyle’s utilitarian set and direction helps us focus on these incredible, inspiring characters. It’s impossible not to root for them.

Danielle Brooks (Taystee in “Orange is the New Black) is glorious as Sofia (the role played by Oprah Winfrey in the film), a sassy mama who takes no guff. She brings down the proverbial house when she belts out the women-fight-back anthem “Hell No!” in Act One. Fine performances are also given by Joaquina Kalukango as Nettie, Isaiah Johnson as Mister, Kyle Scatliffe as Harpo, Patrice Covington as Squeak, and Carrie Comprere, Bre Jackson and Rema Webb as local church ladies.

Oscar and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, as the glamorous singer Shug Avery, is a bona fide Hollywood name helping this production sell tickets. Ms. Hudson will surely please fans with her trademark golden pipes in such rousing numbers as “Push Da Button” and the duet with Celie, “What About Love?” Unfortunately, she has a lackluster stage presence. The character of Shug Avery is supposed to be a bisexual powerhouse, ultimately becoming Celie’s partner, and she should command everyone’s attention whenever she’s onstage. Were it not for Ann Hould-Ward and Christopher Vegara’s gorgeous costumes, Ms. Hudson’s Shug Avery wouldn’t be noticeable at all. When Ms. Hudson delivers a line, she’s definitely good, but it seems she is giving the same performance she did as Effie in Dreamgirls. Ms. Hudson is a diva indeed, but she may disappoint anyone expecting more from such an accomplished star. However, the rest of the cast’s performances are so strong that it doesn’t matter.

Cynthia Erivo makes her Broadway debut here, but she’s already established over in the United Kingdom, where she toured in Sister Act (playing another role Whoopi Goldberg originated for a Hollywood hit). There is no question Cynthia Erivo is bound for stage superstardom on our shores, and the whole audience gets chills as she belts out her 11^th hour number “I’m Here” toward the end of Act Two. By spring’s awards season, Ms. Erivo, Mr. Doyle and this revival itself are going to clean up with this richly shaded, exquisitely acted Color Purple.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 16, 2015
Reviewed at performance on December 15, 2015

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Cynthia Erivo & Jennifer Hudson. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Jennifer Hudson & Cynthia Erivo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Isaiah Johnson. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Jennifer Hudson & Cynthia Erivo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: (left to right) Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson, Isaiah Johnson & company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Joaquina Kalukango. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: (left to right) Danielle Brooks, Patrice Covington, Cynthia Erivo, Bre Jackson, Carrie Comprere & Rema Webb. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: (left to right) Antoine Smith, Patrice Covington, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, Isaiah Johnson, Kyle Scatliffe & Danielle Brooks. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Danielle Brooks & Kyle Scatliffe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Danielle Brooks & Kyle Scatliffe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE COLOR PURPLE’: Danielle Brooks. Photo: Matthew Murphy