VIOLET at WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

Winner of the Drama Critics' Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical when it premiered Off-Broadway in 1997, and then on to a Tony-nominated Broadway debut in 2014 with a revised version, Violet is a moving musical featuring show-stopping anthems, ranging from American-roots to folk to gospel. With a score from Tony-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Shrek; Fun Home) and book and lyrics by the acclaimed Brian Crawley (A Little Princess), Violet is inspired by the short story, The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts, astounding critics and audiences alike in two separate decades.

As a girl, Violet was struck by a wayward axe blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. With enough money finally saved she's traveling across the Deep South in 1964 towards a miracle – the healing touch of a TV evangelist who will make her beautiful. Although she may not succeed in having the scar on her face healed, Violet is able to repair those scars that are lying deeper than her skin. On the way, she meets a young, African-American soldier whose love for her reaches far past her physical "imperfections."

Authors

• Brian Crawley
• Doris Betts
• Jeanine Tesori
• Whitfield Cook

Tony Awards and Nominations for VIOLET