RippedMan said: "Just back from this and I'm over the moon!
First off, for those rushing, the box seats offer a fantastic view. It's a minimal set and minimal staging, so you really don't miss a ton. You might miss the depth of the stage - like when the ensemble stands along the back wall, but all in all it's a great seat at that price.
I've never seen The Color Purple before. Never read the book, never seen the movie. And I was pretty intrigued by the whole thing. On one hand it did feel a little white-washed and clean for such a raw story, but at the same time to quote Whizzer "Celie just keeps her head down and plows through all the horrible abuse and injustices that befall" which is kind of what the show does? It just puts its head down and mentions it but doesn't dwell, which is why the catharsis at the end is so great.
The standout is Cynthia hands down. She just nailed the whole damn thing. Her voice is just so strong and beautiful, and while she can riff with the best of them, she just has such a pure beautiful voice that suits the music. And her acting was insane. I kind of wish I could have seen her in Sister Act instead of Patina. While there is some stiff Tony competition, I'm pretty sure she nailed it.
Hudson was interesting. Mind you it's only been a week of previews, but I think she'll get there. She needs to come up in like a blaze of glory and own the damn stage. She's got the presence and the audience is on her side. However, she never really lets loose and belts to the rafters like we know she can. She's controlled. Which is maybe her way of figuring out what she can do 8x a week. But her big solos, while beautifully sung, weren't the standouts. My friend commented that he wishes at the end during the curtain call she would just wail and sing, but it's not Shug's show. It's Celie's. So it's a weird balance. You want Hudson to own the show, but it's tough cause her numbers aren't really set up like that. Her duet with Celie is gorgeous, and her Push The Button is fine, but the show as directed here can't really sustain a production number. I mean, the fifteenth time we see someone swing a chair around it's like okay...
Brooks was fine. She was giving me Orange is the New Black. Her "Hell No" was super shaky and made me nervous, but as the show went on she owned the part.
I kind of love and kind of hate Doyle's direction. I found the same thing with The Visit. There's just moments of pure bliss - I loved how he made Nellie the mailbox at the beginning - but then some just super stagnant moments like Mister's Act 2 solo. I was waiting for the chairs to really pay off, and while I get the concept - they're all the memories of her past - they just weren't used as well as I thought they could have been. What if they had been hung closer together and people could have climbed them or sat on them, etc. And I don't get why Doyle doesn't use lighting at all? Everything is just a wash of white. You have these beautiful floorboards that could have light shining through them, etc. But he doesn't seem to want any theatrical magic at all. I was waiting for pretty stage pictures, but nothing. Hm.
And whoever said the score was weak is entirely wrong. I loved pretty much every song, and there were so many weird and interesting harmonies. The lyrics aren't brilliant, but the characters aren't exactly Harvard educated. So it works.
Overall I was really impressed and loved it and will probably go back later in the run.
"
Interesting you say Brooke's was the weakest link today. But here you say she "owned the part". You are laughable sir!
