Cynthia Erivo

Erivo's performance, to me, is one of the two or three times in my long theatergoing career where the product not only lived up to the hype, but wildly exceeded it.

Celie is an award magnet role. I have never heard of a production of the colour purple anywhere where the lead hasn't at least been nomination for the top theater prize in that region.

Jordan Catalano said: "I'll honestly never get the hype over this. I think she gave an excellent performance in a good production of an absolutely terrible show. I think her being so much better than the material is really making people use rose colored glasses when they see the show. I'll just never understand why this show has gotten the love it's gotten.



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My simple response, is Cynthia makes the show. Not many actors make a show like Cynthia did for the Color Purple. I wouldn't have enjoyed the show nearly as much without Cynthia. I only saw the show based upon the reviews on this board, and even after reading the reviews,I had a hard time choosing the show over others. Glad I did.

This is alo why the show is closing instead of trying to find a "name" to replace her. This was her show.

Cynthia Erivo is one of the finest actresses and singers out there today. Her work in The Color Purple is unparalleled, and I hope the start of an incredibly long and amazing career.

Also, today is Ms. Erivo's 30th birthday, the same day her star turn in The Color Purple on Broadway has come to an end. How amazing is that?

And soooo humble at the stage door. Cynthia is a lovely person!

teresa2 said: "I think Cynthia is older than 30.

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...she was born in 1987. She turned 30 today.

Scarywarhol said: "What was amazing about Erivo is that the role (and the musical) is, frankly, a bitter disappointment in comparison to its source material. But she made you feel like the Alice Walker novel was happening in front of you. She got everything into that performance. "

This. And then some. I had little interest in seeing the show (and not living in the NYC area, little chance) but after reading all the positives about Erivo (and the Tony win helped), and finding myself in NYC in early December, I grabbed a single (discounted) ticket and went. And I was so energized by Ms. Erivo's performance (and Jennifer Holliday and Carrie Compere). The flaws in the material just drifted away by the power of the performances.

I read the book again last week, and I have a bit of a deeper appreciation for both the musical and the film after having done so. Alice Walker's book is beautiful but extremely impressionistic: the tone of it could never truly be faithfully captured in any theatrical medium. But I was impressed with how the lyricists for the musical pulled phrases and descriptions - I remember thinking when I first heard the title song , for example, how strange the lyric "like a blade of corn" is - but its right there in the book.

I will be most curious to see Cynthia Erivo in another musical -- I think understandably part of her success here was the role itself - which people deeply respond to on a personal level. I know what I responded to was really her singing voice and I do think she has a star presence. It will be interesting to see what she does next for an encore.

Great performance...brought me to tears and chills at the same time. And as another poster mentioned, so gracious and pleasant at the stage door.

Jordan Catalano said: "I'll honestly never get the hype over this. I think she gave an excellent performance in a good production of an absolutely terrible show. I think her being so much better than the material is really making people use rose colored glasses when they see the show. I'll just never understand why this show has gotten the love it's gotten.

I have to agree that I agree with this assessment. I thought it was pretty good when I saw it, but was not even remotely bowled over. I admit that I have been attending the theatre a lot longer than many participants here, but I can think of dozens of performances off the top of my hat that I thought were superior to hers.

Just in the 60s alone, off the top of my head: Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey in Hello, Dolly; Angela Lansbury in Mame and Dear World (the latter may have been flawed...she was amazing); Barbara Harris in The Apple Tree; Patricia Rutledge in Darling of the Day; Richard Kiley in Man of La Mancha; Hershel Bernardi in Fiddler (I thought he was bette than Zero, who was already ad-libbing when I saw it the first time); Tommy Steele in Half a Sixpence; William Daniels in 1776; Leslie Uggams in Hallelujah, Baby.

Skipping past the 70s to the 90s to more current times...

in the 21st century, Nathan Lane in The Producers; Hugh Jackman in Boy From Oz; Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens; Patti Lupone and (if it opened post 12/31/99) Bernadette Peters in Gypsy; Alice Ripley in Next to Normal; Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town; Idina Menzel in Wicked; Kelli O'Hara in South Pacific; Billy Porter in Kinky Boots; both Daniel Jenkins and Genna Russell in Sunday in the Park revival.

This is not intended as anything more than one person's immediate reaction -- also, I did not have the good fortune to see some incredibly acclaimed performances, e.g., I was unable to see Light in the Piazza -- just to say that I thought she was fine, but I have personally seen a lot more memorable performances and continue not to understand all the hyperbole around her performance. I think the main reason is probably not in her control...I still think the material she had to work with was mediocre.

I got to see Cynthia a few years ago in London in Songs for a New World, so the barest stage, no book, just 4 people taking turns singing songs with a little bit of blocking. It was clear to everyone in that audience that she was pure magic, just as it was to audiences at the Color Purple. So I have high hopes for whatever she does next.