The Color Purple glows at the Fox
July 17, 2008 at 2:21 pm by David Lee Simmons in A&E
Seems like it took me a full day to recover from the Theatre of the Stars’ opening-night presentation of the Tony-nominated The Color Purple at the Fox on Tuesday, so please forgive my tardiness. There was so much going on with this show — the backstory of the production, the curious nature of its adaptation book to movie to musical theater, you name it — I’m still a bit overwhelmed.
Still, this production, despite some obvious flaws, is one of those classic examples of something being bigger than the sum of its parts, and is a heckuva homecoming for a musical that received its world premiere at the Alliance back in 2004 before heading up to Broadway. (Check out Curt Holman’s review of that production). That’s just a slice of the show’s now-storied past, if you throw in the local angle of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book having been written by Georgia’s own Alice Walker along with Steven Spielberg’s earnest 1985 movie version.
I confess to never having read Walker’s novel, but am familiar with some of its criticisms almost as much as its popularity (most notably its portrayal of violence by black men toward black women). Maybe this is a good thing, because watching the switch from movie to musical probably felt just as jarring for me as it was for those who saw the jump from book to movie. This is where judging a work on its own merit becomes an almost burdensome task; there’s so much baggage here, you don’t know where to put it. I find it curious, for example, that Spielberg’s movie and the Broadway musical both earned 11 nominations (Oscar and Tony, respectively) with the movie completely shut out and the musical settling for only one win. It’s as if people like these works, but can’t quite bring themselves to love them.
But there is much to love about this touring production, which soars on specific music numbers and an overall stellar performance from its ensemble cast. The musical was conceived by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, who wrote the music and lyrics, with the book by Marsha Norman. The Color Purple tells the ultimately triumphant tale of Celie (Jeannette Bayardelle), who endures more than her fair share of hardship growing up abused and used in the rural Deep South. Deemed ugly and useless by her husband Mister (a glowering Rufus Bonds Jr.), Ceelie is torn from her own two children at an early age and then watches as her beloved sister Nettie (former “American Idol” contestant LaToya London) leave as well.
In fact, Celie spends most of her life in a perpetual state of abandonment by those she loves and enslavement by those she fears, and over the course of three hours, her triumph can’t come soon enough. But over that same period comes a rush of bigger-than-life production numbers, filled with musical and emotional force, with talent rushing from every voice. Bayardelle is in complete control of her vocal range, never letting it overwhelm her shy but steely character.
But the real star of the show is Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields as the blustery Sofia (played by co-producer Oprah Winfrey in the movie version). One part Ethel Waters (as noted by the AJC’s Wendell Brock) and one part Hattie McDaniel, Fields force of presence sometimes borders on caricature but never falters. (That she has played Ma Rainey and Ella Fitzgerald in previous productions should now surprise no one.) She provides a huge challenge (almost literally) for Atlanta native Stu James as her husband Harpo, and yet James never looks intimidated opposite her. Harpo finds himself trapped between the demanding Sofia and his domineering, bitter father Mister (or Albert, we later learn), and neither the actor nor the character after gets lost in these competing forces.
Sexy and lithe, Angela Robinson as Shug is as uncomplicated in her performance as Shug is in the story — an object of affection for both Celie and Mister — and Robinson gets credit for playing her role almost too safely. This love triangle, which I suspect carried far greater weight in Walker’s novel, feels thin onstage, as if lesbianism as a serious dramatic narrative device might be too squeamish for many. During Tuesday night’s performance, Bayardelle pulled off a neat trick. When Shug kisses Celie for the first time, Bayardelle gives off a shy but sly grin that’s directly reminiscent of Whoopi Goldberg’s grin in the movie version. The crowd laughed in appreciation. It’s as if the grin were a device of distraction, to keep the audience from contemplating for too long the ramifications of such a moment.
My favorite numbers of the evening were easy to single out: the ensemble’s gospel power of “Mysterious Ways,” Sofia’s defiant protest “Hell No!”, Shug’s adoring, nurturing “Too Beautiful Words” and “What About Love?”, the tear-inducing closer by Celie and Shug.
I’m not sure if Walker’s dramatic intentions continue to soften with each adaptation. Leaping from the movie version to a musical for me was an exercise in complete emotional adjustment. (My wife, for the record, a HUGE Color Purple fan, all but told me to lighten up.) But there’s no denying the power of this show, and the potential to delight Atlanta audiences for the reminder of its two-and-a-half-week run
(Photo by Paul Kolnik)
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
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