What was wrong with The Color Purple?

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:30am

My apologies if there is already another thread on this. I was browsing through old posts on here (no links, sorry) and read a couple of people no liking The Color Purple musical but didn't seem to say why. I adore the book and have seen the movie several times. The closest I got to the musical was the cast recording, which I quite like. Just wondering, why did people no like the show? The score? Book?

[staunchcharacter]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:37am

Okay So I saw the Original touring cast and I was SO confused. (I had never seen the movie and had no idea what it was about) The plot was hard to follow, the crowd would never shut up, (Though that has nothing to do with the show itself) the BLack-cents were impossible to distinguish, and I went and watched the movie afterwards and was moved to tears. Thats what I think I should've felt like after watching the musical. Not to mention the score was ho-hum. It was just confusing in a word.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:41am

Brantley said it best: "So much plot, so many years, so many characters to cover in less than three hours."

The score was hit and miss, but I do remember the acting was very passionate.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:59am

I saw the tour twice. The first time I absolutely loved it. The second time... let's just say its flaws became very apparent to me the second time around. The show has some great songs and some strong points, but there are parts of it that just dragged on and on and on. It was definitely an enjoyable show, but it was very flawed.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:16am

It ran over 900 performances. I'm not sure anything was 'wrong' with it.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:21am

Compared to previous incarnations of the story, it was dull, dispassionate, and confusing. And there is no excuse for a story so musical to have such an utterly forgettable score. I actually can't remember a single song. I can, however, hum the theme to the movie.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:33am

I'm going to say that I didn't dislike The Color Purple. I just wanted it to be better than it was. It was just a bit muddy. There was too much going on in the book. The score had some nice songs but a lot of it didn't really stand out. The cast was strong and really elevated the material.

I have a feeling it lasted as long as it did because Oprah's name was all over the theater and it was a recognizable property. People know the movie even if they haven't seen the movie and people love Oprah.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:34am

It played over 900 performance in a huge house (almost 1500 seats) not so 'wrong' at all.

I enjoyed it a great deal, but found the score to be immemorable.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 9:20am

I thought it was quite good, overall. The score has some great moments, and some real misses. The book is a rather uninspired adaptation, though it's serviceable.

The cast was outstanding, both times I saw it. However, I preferred Fantasia (who was simply outstanding) and Alton Fitzgerald White to LaChanze and Kingsley Leggs.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 9:31am

It's not a bad show. It has some good music. I thought Felicia Fields and especially Elisabeth Withers gave outstanding supporting performance. But here's my chief complaint:

The Color Purple is Celie's story. In the musical, Celie tends to fade while still in plain view. Even with performers as charismatic as LaChanze or Fantasia, there was no dressing up the fact that the role isn't equivalent to what Celie's position in the story should be. I mean, she doesn't even get a solo until ten minutes before the curtain falls.

In regards to a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, another poster (either here or on ATC) commented that when you leave the theatre and are raving about Big Mama, something's wrong. Well, if you leave The Color Purple raving about how well-constructed Harpo and Shug were, you're on equally shaky ground.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 9:43am

I saw it on Broadway during previews and really enjoyed it. I love the music and own the cast recording.

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 2:06pm

I never quite fully liked The Color Purple. I have the cast recording and maybe only listen to a handful of songs and even those songs sound awfully familiar to me, like I've heard them before. In fact, whenever I listen to the overture I feel like I'm listening to a bunch of R&B music from the 90s. The show's book felt like the biggest problem to me when I saw it. I wasn't engaged throughout the show. I didn't really care for much of the characters. The Act 1 finale didn't have that oomph that made you want to come back for Act 2, and the entire Act 2 opening in Africa was just really boring to me. That being said, I did see the show on Broadway with the original cast (but I think the guy playing Mister was the u/s). Anyway, I thought the original cast was brilliant and that is what made me enjoy the show the most.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:49pm

Saw the OBC with La Chanze in previews. At the time I was amazed that creators with apparently so little Broadway show-writing experience had nearly made a very serviceable musical out of the material. They really understand how songs are supposed to work in the structure of a musical to touch on true emotion and propel the story forward. I thought the first third of Act I and the opening of Act II in Africa were both superb pieces of Broadway show-writing.

Sadly the rest of the night didn't match its best parts. Inexplicably they could NOT musicalize either Celie or Shug without resorting to contemporary pop cliches in music and lyrics and what should have been the rich core of the show (their relationship) was dreadfully shlocky and banal.

Still glad to have gone, but what a waste of the rich property it could have been.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 4:50pm

Compared to previous incarnations of the story, it was dull, dispassionate, and confusing. And there is no excuse for a story so musical to have such an utterly forgettable score. I actually can't remember a single song. I can, however, hum the theme to the movie.

That sums it up for me. The storytelling was muddied and confused, that Lion King bit that opened the second act added nothing, and the score-by-committee was dull and lacked anything to coherently pull it all together.
Updated On: 8/7/11 at 04:50 PM

[dontevenstart]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:00pm

The Color Purple is Celie's story. In the musical, Celie tends to fade while still in plain view. Even with performers as charismatic as LaChanze or Fantasia, there was no dressing up the fact that the role isn't equivalent to what Celie's position in the story should be. I mean, she doesn't even get a solo until ten minutes before the curtain falls.

But isn't that part of the point? Celie comes into her own and it isn't until she is finally comfortable in herself and completely happy that she can come forward and sing on her own! In a musical, we are moved to sing because the emotions are so heightened that words can no longer express how we feel. I think this is an incredible example of great writing!

Just my two cents.

[jpbran]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:09pm

A long-ish run is NO automatic indicator of quality. (see "Cats") That's like saying Adam Sandler is a film great because is movies are all mostly hits.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:21pm

Oh, thank GOD!

I thought this was about Sally's dress.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 9:38pm

I suppose I'm in the minority here, but I found it very moving. Flawed, yes, for sure (the way they sped through all of that plot was at times almost laughable), but when it hit a good point, it soared. I found the last fifteen minutes or so to be some of the most beautiful theatre I've ever seen. I also thought the score was especially good, particularly for a rather unexperienced team. It might've helped, though, that the national tour cast (which included the phenomenal Jeanette Bayardelle and Latoya London) was absolutely terrific. I also loved Fantasia in the role when I saw the tour later on.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 9:57pm

^ I agree. Despite all it's flaws, it's a very moving show. The act 1 finale when Celie finds Nettie's letters is probably one of the most moving and beautiful act 1 finales I have seen.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 10:38pm

I'm more aware of its flaws than I was when I first saw it but I remember finding it a very moving piece.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 10:19am

A long-ish run is NO automatic indicator of quality. (see "Cats")

It depends on how you define quality. There is a quality to keeping a show running long enough to turn a profit. There is also a quality to developing and sustaining interest. A long run usually means there is something about the show that appeals to general audiences beyond what the academics believe is right or wrong.

That being said, I saw the tour and I didn't care for it. I thought the book was mostly the screenplay directly transposed for the stage (as well as much of the direction) and I only liked about 2 or 3 songs. The score seemed far too generic and unmemorable.