The Color Purple - WOW!

It was a beautiful show that will hopefull get its due around Tony time. The sets were spectacular, as were the performances.

That's right... I forgot about the 3 church ladies. They were hillarious.... and they could sangggggggggg!! lol

I have to agree with other on this one. I found the show COMPLETELY disconnected. No character development or real emotion at all, it just seemed to be going through the motions of the story.

oh no smaxie, i found so much power in the specific way that celie was musicalized. her ability to pour her heart out through song is taken away by the other people in her life, and isn't until she can finally stand on her own two feet that she can actually express herself musically to the audience. if she had had "her number" at any other point the show wouldn't have worked for me, because then they would have cheated the character. to me, it was character development like none other. the musicalization, the book, the staging, all led to that one moment when celie could say "i am beautiful for loving who i really am." that is what this story is about, and the authors could not have hit the jackpot anymore.

Another thing... no amount of dowdy clothing or lack of make-up can make La Chanze ugly, as several characters keep calling her throughout the evening.

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Updated On: 12/28/05 at 04:16 PM

It's funny, in the liner notes for "Do I Hear a Waltz?" Sondheim states that the problem with the show was they were trying to musicalize a character that didn't sing, metaphorically...and I think that's the exact problem here. Why decide to make a musical if the character who's story it is can't sing? All the other songs til the 11 o'clock number are just pointless filler. And the 11 o'clock number lands with a thud as well. It's not AWFUL, but I left the theater without feeling a single thing.

Here is the review I posted in a thread with other reviews of shows I saw in November.

Color Purple - 11/16 Evening - Hmmm. Well we all know that it should be a fairly big crowd pleaser. I sat Orchestra, row F seat 13. Four rows from the stage on the right. Any farther over, I would suspect you would miss a lot o the right side of the stage. I felt sorry for the lady in the last seat in the 1st row on the right. She had to be missing a lot. We had Jeannette I. Bayardelle as Nettie. She was very good. As was most of the cast. LaChanze was wonderful as Celie. She lost herself in the character and made Celie real. Vocally she was wonderful. A bit rough around the edges, especially during "I'm Here". But she was wonderful. Elisabeth Withers-Mendes nailed Shug Avery. The Church Ladies were fun as comic "relief". (Relief is in quotes for a reason! I will get to that.)Felicia P. Fields should get a Tony nod for Supporting Actrees as Sofia. She commanded the stage every time she was on it. The only disappointing actor, for me, was Kingsley Leggs as Mister. His big second act number "With These Hands" fell flat. Vocally he was off and there was no real emotion. And this is where the "relief" in quotes comes in. The show should have delivered an emotional punch but failed to do so. It went at such a fast pace (even at 2 hours and 40 minutes) that you didn't really have time to feel for any of the characters. Once you started to feel something, it was on to the next scene. I was however impressed with how they adressed Celie and Shug's lesbian "relationship" head on. This, of course, made some audience members uncomfortable. Noticeably the African American members in my section. (Which is no surprise. Just for the record, I am African American) I thought it was done very well and supplied the only real drama during the show. The choreography was fantastic. However the African Homeland number went on to long and I really thought the cast of Lion King had stepped in to do the number. Also missing, though listed in the playbill, was the Overture. The curtain went up and they went straight into Huckleberry Pie. This show needs an overture. Finally, The reuniting of Nettie and Celie was pretty emotionless. It was so rushed. I hope they work on the pacing of this show. Some really good moments are lost because they fly by too fast. And there are a number of times Mr. Griffin could have slowed things down to tug on our heart strings. I have read reviews here where people have said they cried. Maybe I saw an off performance. Maybe they were a bit tired from the matinee and the Creative Coalition reception. But the show still needs to be tightened up a bit and the pacing should be a bit slower. So with all that said (So much for being brief!) Will the show survive in my opinion? Yup. It will be a crowd pleaser as it has some good music, it already is doing good advance sales and will draw more African Americans to, at least, this show and you won't be able to get the title song out of your head (They make sure of that!). My predictions for Tony awards...LaChanze, Felicia P. Fields and Ms. Withers-Mendez. Also nods for choreography, costumes, sets and score. This review is just my opinion! (If there are typos, forgive me. I am using my friend's laptop. I hate laptops!!)

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uncageg - you bring up a good point.

When I saw the show in previews, Overture listed in the playbill, the curtain rose to Huckleberry Pie. I went back after the show opened and there was an overture. Now there isn't? Seems they can't decide if they want one or not...

LaChanze is really sick..hence the roughness.

Smaxie - I agree that the show moves very fast. I walked away feeling something, as did others. But I'm sure many didn't. And I'm sure not everyone feels the same way after leaving. Yes, I happen to love this show...but it is flawed. I think the biggest problem is the book (Walker's that is) is dark in its own way. When mounting a musical - based on something so well known - it has to appeal to children as well.

I never thought that the show was making her lesbianism into a phase. Shug is bisexual - or just likes the pleasure. And I think Celie was confused until Shug came and said - enjoy men and women. Remember the diaologue between Shug and Celie - where Shug asked why Celie doesn't like Mister "on top of her."

I like what apdarcey said about "I'm Here." And, no it isn't the most powerful song. But the song that does get me is the reprise of the title song. When everyone's around her. That's what it's about. Community. Friendship. All those people onstage at the end (those that came to the picnic, etc.) are Celie's friends. They care about her. They love her. Shug returned. Mister "redeemed" himself. That's what it's all about. Celie does have people that care for her.

As far as looks, Kenita made a much uglier Celie than LaChanze. I agree, LaChanze can't be made ugly. But that's not her fault.

Mister's song (now called "Celie's curse") has the right idea. The trouble is, the staging of it - the current staging (if it's how it was when I last saw the show) is just awkward. It splits Mister's song up. When I saw him, he was full of emotion. But he was working against the scene. Even though the original had an awkward beginning, I think it allowed Kingsley (actor playing Mister) to develop emotion.

What's funny is that besides Sofia's songs, most of the emotion is in the book. But I think Shug and Sofia deserve the songs. I think Celie was given the right amount of singing time - one song to her baby, one song at the end. "I'm Here," however, isn't the strongest song - you're right. The lyrics are nice, but there is something missing.

It seems they are still working on the show, which makes every revisit all the more exciting. It's nice to see a show that is getting better and it's nice that Griffin is working on improving it - and didn't give up once the reviews came out (even though they were positive).

P.S. In Atlanta, there was no "I'm Here." Celie only sang those words, "But I'm here" at the end of the reprise of "What About Love?" (after Shug leaves). I'm glad they added the song in...it was needed.

Of course, Atlanta was just about a completely different show.

"I'm reminded of Abyssinia, another show where a main character goes through a personal trauma and literally stops singing, but that show still found musical moments for the main character while on the road to her own personal (and musical) salvation."

It's a wonderful show, with a fantastic score.

Tootie 'The Most Horrible' Smith
St. Louis, Missouri

Updated On: 6/4/06 at 10:14 AM