See it on Broadway through January 8th only. The Color Purple is the 2016 Tony Award winner for Best Musical Revival. Best Actress Tony Award winner CYNTHIA ERIVO ("an incandescent new star" says The New York Times) leads a powerhouse cast in this epic story of a young woman’s journey to love and joy in the American South. Joining her is Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway legend JENNIFER HOLLIDAY (Dreamgirls). Tony winner JOHN DOYLE directs.
Don't miss two of Broadway's most powerful performers together on one stage in this Tony-winning triumph that New York Magazine calls "one of the greatest revivals ever."
Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph that New York Magazine calls "one of the greatest revivals ever."
A sleek, vastly improved and altogether wonderful revival of 'The Color Purple' opened Thursday at Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre...under John Doyle's new, inspired direction the musical emerges as one of the most adult shows ever written...Four women is a lot for a musical, and in that original production the focus on Celie...sometimes got lost. The new 'Color Purple' never loses sight of its Celie, and Doyle keeps the show revolving around the stunning performance of Cynthia Erivo in the role. She isn't better than LaChanze, Erivo is just different -- very grounded, less impish and adorable. Her more naturalistic approach roots the show, and that's needed because Doyle's minimalism here is very fanciful...Erivo dominates, as she must. But it's a real contest between her and Danielle Brooks' big-voiced, full-bodied Sofie...Jennifer Hudson, in her Broadway debut, brings star presence to the role of Celie's fickle lover, Shug Avery...Here is another big, rich voice, and it is entirely apt that Hudson should be showy with her overuse of melisma.
Propelled by a pair of knockout performances from Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Erivo, both making their Broadway debuts, this transfer from London's Menier Chocolate Factory takes a minimalist visual approach to a story that sprawls across decades and continents, training the focus firmly on the twists and turns of Alice Walker's highly populated, Brontë-worthy tale...Marsha Norman's book cunningly trims the story to essentials, and the songs by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray get the job done...What sets the production so strikingly apart from the original is director John Doyle's spartan approach to the physical setting, which he also designed...I'm not always a fan of Doyle's approach but here...he shows a mastery of character revealed. And so in the best show-biz sense, The Color Purple is more than the sum of its considerable parts. It's a fine old-fashioned celebration of endurance, grace and goodness, given a powerful African-American depth.
2004 | New York |
Reading New York |
2004 |
World Premiere |
|
2005 | New York |
Workshop New York |
2005 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2007 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
2015 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2017 | US Tour |
Revival National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | John Doyle |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical | Jane Cox |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Catherine Jayes |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Joseph Joubert |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | The Color Purple |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Cynthia Erivo |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jennifer Hudson |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | The Color Purple |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or off-Broadway) | The Color Purple |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | John Doyle |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Danielle Brooks |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Cynthia Erivo |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | The Color Purple |
Videos