THE COLOR PURPLE, a soul-stirring musical based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the moving film by Steven Spielberg. It is the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who finds her unique voice in the world. Nominated for eleven Tony® Awards, THE COLOR PURPLE is a landmark theatrical event, a celebration of love, and a Broadway phenomenon. With a joyous GRAMMY®-nominated score featuring jazz, gospel and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE is capturing the hearts of young and old, and uniting audiences in a community of joy.

“A ROOF-RAISING STORY OF TRIUMPH!” 

--Michael Kuchwara, AP

"A SOARING, EPIC TALE. It made a JOYFUL noise in my heart."

--Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

"BLESSED WITH TALENT. A bright odyssey of survival and triumph with a fairy-tale sense of wonder."

--Ben Brantley, New York Times

Running time: 2 hrs 45 mins. RATING: Contains adult content Civic Theatre, San Diego Haga clic aqui para Español

 

 

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Poor Celie's rich performance

TheStar.com

February 12, 2009

Open your heart to the big, bountiful musical called The Color Purple that opened at the Canon Theatre last night and you will be well rewarded.

Alice Walker's prizewinning novel about Celie, the poor black girl who grows from a childhood of oppression to a maturity filled with happiness and grace, takes so many years (1909-1949) and involves so many people that you might wonder how it can all fit on a stage in less than three hours.

But it does, largely thanks to the skill of librettist Marsha Norman and director Gary Griffin. Without ever feeling that you're being overburdened with information or rushed through a Coles Notes version of the book, you get to know and love all the major characters.

Yes, Sofia is there in all her feisty, freewheeling glory, played with unabashed enthusiasm by the awesome Felicia P. Fields, with Stu James making a sweet counterpart as her on-again, off-again husband, Harpo.

That epitome of sex and charm, Shug Avery, dazzles us on every level in the electric work of Angela Robinson and her Act I duet with Celie, "What About Love?", provides the show with one of its emotional highlights.

There's also amazing work from Rufus Bonds Jr. who turns the misogynistic Mister from a potentially hateful caricature to a fully complex creation capable of genuine redemption. And mention must be made of the three "church ladies" (Kimberly Ann Harris, Virginia Ann Woodruff and Lynette DuPree) who provide welcome humour as the decades pass.

But none of this would work at all if there wasn't an amazing actor playing Celie and this production has one in Kenita R. Miller.

It's hard to figure out which aspect of her work to praise first. She ages 40 years over the course of the evening with total conviction and makes us believe equally in her gawky childhood and her radiant middle-aged self.

Celie has to deal with a variety of losses – sister, children, lover, friends – and Miller makes every one trigger a different kind of pain. There's no danger of her life turning into a monotonous catalogue of woe; she sees to that.

And if all that wasn't enough, she expresses these feelings in the soaring songs of Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell and Allee Willis with a vocal power that is remarkable. Yes, she can bring the roof down with her power, but she can also whisper a single word and fill it with the most intense conviction.

The show has also been blessed in its physical production, with John Lee Beatty's set and Brian MacDevitt's lighting capturing the intense red-dust rural Georgia landscape, while Paul Tazewell is allowed to let his costumes peacock forth in vivid urban hues.

As mentioned, Gary Griffin does a superb job of directing, allowing the big moments to sprawl across the stage as they must, but knowing just how to focus our attention down to one or two people when the moment demands it.

Donald Byrd's choreography has the right kind of splash for the moments of celebration, but it misfires in what I feel is the one unsuccessful sequence in the show.

After many years, Celie finally reconnects with her sister, Nettie (played competently by understudy LaTonya Holmes at the opening performance), who now lives in Africa.

While understanding why it's necessary for Celie to sense some of what that country really means, what winds up on stage looks like outtakes from The Lion King, and takes the show away from the solid base of reality where it has lived all night.

But that's a minor complaint. Regardless of your age, gender, or the colour of your skin, The Color Purple has something resonant and touching to say about existing in this grand, confusing, often upsetting, but ultimately inspiring universe.

Come and listen to the song it's singing. You won't forget it.

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