Everything You Want in a Musical!

Alice Walker’s Classic Revisited

The Color Purple, now at Shea’s 710 Theatre, is everything one could ask for in a musical. Every aspect of it, from the book, music and lyrics, to the direction, choreography, set design, lighting design, band, and large cast are exceptional.

 Based on the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel by Alice Walker, in a series of short scenes the musical keeps to the spirit and integrity of the novel while making it a truly sublime theatrical experience.

Black Experience in the Rural South

Set in the rural South in the early 20th Century, with richly crafted characters and glorious music and lyrics, it tells the story of Celie, a young girl sold into domestic slavery, her children and beloved sister, Nettie, ripped from her, facing a life of drudgery and violence with the vicious Mister. Believing God has abandoned her, she gives up hope until… For all the horrors she endures, like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, she eventually flies free, a thing of beauty finding pleasure and love, and most importantly, her own power. She finds her way back to the God within. The lows are very low, but the highs, ah, they are spectacular.

The music combines elements of Black American jazz, soul, and gospel, while the lyrics are poetic, witty, sometimes very funny, sometimes very sorrowful, and always true to the story and the mood of the characters. Whether it is Celie’s sad lament, Lily of the Field, or the raucous, sensual Brown Betty Part 1-2-3 by Harpo and the men, or Push Da  Button by Shug and the women with the same sexual overtones, each song is imbued with the spirit and soul of the characters.

The story begins and ends with Celie, and Gabriella McKinley, who seems to be completely at home on any stage, with grace and ease takes her from a frightened 14 year old to the joyful woman she becomes 30 years later. She shows the full range of Celie’s experiences without sentimentality, and with a depth of understanding that is a pleasure to behold. And boy can she sing.

As can George L. Brown as Mister, the brutish man who uses and abuses Celie. His song in Act II, Mister Song, is a powerful indictment of how cruelty begets cruelty, and the consequences through the generations. He brings a gravitas to the role that humanizes Mister, as we see him also break free of the chrysalis. The woman he has loved his whole life, the chanteuse Shug Avery, played with style and wit, and another great voice, by Jetaun Louie, brings a worldliness and love to Celie that she has never experienced or imagined could exist. 

The sexual politics in the story are very complex. In this patriarchal rural culture, the man rules. Shug pays no attention to that at all, nor does Sophia, who refuses to bow to male domination, played in a down and dirty, very witty style by Curtis Lovell. She dominates Mister’s son, the easily led Harpo, a hyper-active, very funny, sweet-hearted Brian Brown. Her song, Hell No!, is a declaration of independence, and she sings it with all her power behind it.

When Sophia goes off to her sister’s with the children, Harpo takes up with Squeak, the shrill-voiced, skinny waitress in his juke joint. Nathania Sampaio fits the role to a T, all loose-limbed and twig-like.

Annika Pace is Nettie, Celie’s lost sister. She has a sweetness and optimism about her that never wavers. She sings A Color Purple, a song about the good things in life, which fits her personality.

a Wonderful Collaboration

The three woman Greek Chorus in the persons of Latosha Jennings, Danielle N. Green, and Tammy Wilder, comment on the proceedings and move the story along in a most amusing, at times hysterically funny manner. Gerald Ramsey as Old Mister is a hoot. Tehran Gethers is Celie’s abusive Pa. Marchon Hamilton is the Preacher. Rounding out the cast is the ensemble – Brittney Bryanna Burgess, Austin Marshall, Jake Hayes, Derrian Brown, and Brandon Williamson. They all do great work.

Directed with a wonderfully creative, sure hand by Sarah Norat Phillips, the Interim Artistic Director of Ujima Theatre, this production sings, swings, and zings along with nary a misstep. Choreography is by Naila Ansari, with Music Direction by Karen Saxon. The entire creative team is at the top of their game.

The Color Purple is a collaboration between Ujima Company, Inc., Second Generation Theatre, and Shea’s 710 Theatre. They have each put their talents to great use in this production, creating an unforgettable evening of theater. Prepare to laugh, cry, and maybe have an even greater compassion for what humanity endures and sometimes overcomes.

Kudos to everyone involved in The Color Purple.