THE COLOR PURPLE Previews- Page 2
THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
#25THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:22pm
There was no overture in London. That's not a surprise.
#26THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:33pm
Seriously an unbelievable night. I'm at a loss for words.
"These rabid fans...possess the acting talent to portray the hooker...Linda Eder..." -The New York Times
Updated On: 11/10/15 at 11:33 PM
#27THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:40pm
Just getting home from tonight's preview and agree with others that Doyle is the master of deconstructing a show; without his direction there would be no reason to put up this revival so soon after the original. The cast is mostly excellent, with Erivo and Danielle Brooks the standouts.
My biggest problem is the show itself and I've never been overly fond of the score. In my mind, The Color Purple should be more Marie Christine than Purlie, but accepting the show for what it is, we might not see a better production than this. Act two is considerably stronger than act one. I feel like the score and book, especially during the first half hour, make far too light the horrible things that happen to Celie. I mean the show opens with Celie giving birth to her second child at age 14, both products of rape by her own father. Now is NOT the time for a gospel number by some fun and sassy church ladies.
Celie just keeps her head down and plows through all the horrible abuse and injustices that befall. She's a noble character and the catharsis that awaits her (and the audience) in act two is well-earned. Whatever deficiencies there may be in the score, I'm Here is not one of them. In fact it's as powerful as they come, and the smaller orchestrations somehow add to the honesty of the emotion, strengthening the number rather than detracting from it.
Cythia Erivo is fantastic beyond words. I had tears streaming down my face during I'm Here and on through the finale. She is so strong. Danielle Brooks was a crowd-pleaser as Sofia and really flourishes during her second act arc. Jennifer Hudson sounded great, but I think she rushed her lines about and needs to work on her diction. Every character keeps talking about how Shug sparkles and steals the show, but in reality it's Erivo who walks away with their scenes together.
I cracked up reading the earlier overheard comment about not know if they were inside or outside...well, I guess Doyle's methods won't be for everyone, but I found this to be yet another strong showing for the director. I liked the nips and tucks he made (no overture or big production numbers) and he certainly knows how to keep things buzzing along without feeling slick or phony. It's a shame he couldn't have worked on the original production when the piece was still being created. Who knows how he may have been able to shape the score and book into something darker or more raw.
I think this revival will make for a nice cast album (the voices of the ensemble are positively glorious) and I truly prefer the smaller orchestrations. I may not have been 100% won over, but this is as good as this show is likely to get.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#28THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:43pm
Is my queen Oprah there for previews, or is she decidedly less involved in this version?
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#29THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/10/15 at 11:45pm
I agree with the diction comments. I think they could all use some work on their enunciation and diction - except Erivo. She's ready for the critics already!
Updated On: 11/10/15 at 11:45 PM
#30THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 12:07am
How can a show be so saccharine and dour at the same time?
The sparse, wooden set is used to great effect throughout the show - minimalism serves the piece. The dedicated cast gives themselves fully to the text. The direction is very good - Doyle has reigned the often rambling show into a cohesive whole as much as possible. The songs are sung very well - the lights are great. Even the sound was in good shape for a first preview. The audience was ecstatic and responsive. So why was the show so boring?
Perhaps the revival of Spring Awakening spoiled me - the wonderful direction made the lackluster show play much better for me and the great cast only added to my joy. But, then again, The Color Purple has never been a great show. I saw the national tour (one of my first shows ever seeing live) and can't recall anything except being bored stiff. What Doyle has done is eliminate much of the book and rely solely on actors to provide the backstory with stilted lines. At first, it seemed to work. The opening montage was mostly enjoyable and compelling, but after Celie marries Mister, the show stops cold. The score is unmemorable at almost every turn, and each song blends into the next, leading you to wait for the big key change and gospel finish. The lyrics are pedestrian to a fault, some downright awful. But, then again, no performers (and certainly not one of Kyle Scatliffe's calibre) could redeem "Any Little Thing" or the atrocious blocking.
Case in point: Jennifer Hudson basically had a Best Featured Actress nailed in - I had thought. For the first 40 minutes we hear all about Shug. Shug this, Shug that. And she arrives at the end of a big choral number (wearing a hideous coat) and gets more applause then we have heard all night. But her numbers don't deliver. I was suprised at how grounded and comfortable she seemed on stage, and had she had one good number - and she had 3 lackluster ones - I think she could have completed with Renee from Hamilton. Not to worry, Hamilton fans, the Tony remains in Renee's hands (for now). In fact, Shug's character appears for maybe a half an hour in the show then kind of fades out.
Cynthia Erivo is a force of nature, on the other hand. Like a warrior, she goes everywhere her character demands, and more. Not for a moment does she allow herself to fade from character. She truly believes every line she says. Even when she says some generic line to generate applause, she delivers. She knows every inch of her character and never for a moment lets go. "I'm Here" was stunning - a showstopper in the best possible way. And in that moment, the show rose to heights it never had before.
The audience, however, had to be the rudest I had ever encountered. The man next to me talked to his girlfriend for the first half-hour, debating when Jennifer Hudson would make her entrance. The applause was intrusive on the performance, and no matter how wonderful Miss Erivo was, "I'm Here" did not need a standing ovation - but the man who started it looked pleased when everyone else followed suit.
All in all, a mixed night for me. I found the material rather boring, but with the cast and direction, it managed to hold my attention.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
Updated On: 11/11/15 at 12:07 AM
#32THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 12:49am
I believe only six or seven. Very, very small. Although, I must say, it didn't sound bad.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#33THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 12:52am
I lost my Playbill at the theatre, but a times article when it was at the Menier said 8 and that sounds right. The arrangements are okay. The real problem is the music being pumped in and amplified. It might as well be pre-recorded from the audience.
#34THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 12:53am
Thanks! Night Music and La Cage sounded terribly tinny live, although the former was wonderfully beefed up for the cast recording. I'd imagine The Color Purple could be too.
getatme
Leading Actor Joined: 6/14/11
#35THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 12:55am
Could someone possibly post the understudy list? The information isn't listed on Playbill Vault.
How were Kyle Scatliffe and Joaquina Kalukango?
#36THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:00am
I found Kyle to be the sole weak link in the cast. Although he sung well, his acting simply wasn't up to it. Everything sounded hammy from him. But no actor could save the atrocious second act duet they had, where their blocking was to sexually straddle every bit of set (so wooden chairs) or scenery (wooden columns) in sight.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#37THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:05am
I wasn't crazy about Kyle either. I thought Isaiah Johnson was exceptional, though. Joaquina is fantastic. She and Cynthia have great chemistry and you completely believe their bond and love for each other.
#38THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:14am
Besides "I'm Here", is there anything in this score worth listening to? I love this song but haven't found anything else on the OBC that captures much of my attention - besides occasionally giving "Celie's Curse" a whirl.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#39THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:18am
Our Prayer, What About Love?, and The Color Purple are three gorgeous songs worth listening to.
#40THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:18am
I'm so on the fence about this one. The original production, I thought was pretty much an all-around awful show. It had a couple of nice songs and some of the performances were quite good, but the book is one of the worst adaptations of any source material ever, I find. So if the only reason to go see this new production is to see Doyle's direction, I think I might end up skipping it and just watching the film, which is arguably the greatest american film ever made.
Broadwaystar2
Broadway Star Joined: 9/4/13
#41THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:27am
Jordan Catalano said: "I'm so on the fence about this one. The original production, I thought was pretty much an all-around awful show. It had a couple of nice songs and some of the performances were quite good, but the book is one of the worst adaptations of any source material ever, I find. So if the only reason to go see this new production is to see Doyle's direction, I think I might end up skipping it and just watching the film, which is arguably the greatest american film ever made.
"
You actually get the story in this production. This version of the telling to me is closer to a true telling of the book. There is no glitz or glamour here. Just true raw, in your face story telling. With little to get in the way. You will leave moved. I truly believe that. Get a rush ticket if you're doubtful. This is the epitome of a revival. In my opinion.
#42THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 1:59am
But if there haven't been significant changes made to the book, I don't see how that's possible. But we'll see. Maybe before it closes I'll go.
Broadwaystar2
Broadway Star Joined: 9/4/13
#43THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 2:09am
There can and are significant ways to tell the story differently. So that it is more understandable. When the flow is different. The same words can be just as new. This production delivers far more than the last production. And it's 10 times smaller.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#44THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 2:16am
Whizzer, call me confused, but how were you at both previews?
#45THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 2:18am
Jordan Catalano said: I think I might end up skipping it and just watching the film, which is arguably the greatest american film ever made.
Really? I mean, it's good, but I don't even think it's the greatest American film from 1985 with the word "purple" in the title.
#47THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 2:37am
Jordan, Cynthia Erivo is the reason to see this show. This is a star making turn. I was never a fan of the original recording, but after seeing this in London a couple of years, it really is an amazing night of theatre..
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
Tom Sawyer2
Swing Joined: 11/8/15
#49THE COLOR PURPLE Previews
Posted: 11/11/15 at 3:01am
If it makes any difference, Doyle has done a fair amount of trimming and made a few cuts to the book and score in an effort to focus the story a little more. This production is not only smaller but shorter and less bloated than the original.
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