The Fabulous Fox Theatre has a winner on its hands.
The Color Purple is a powerful, at times almost spiritual, musical detailing the trials and tribulations of Celie, an abused and meek woman who, through the influence of a number of strong women, comes to rise above her troubles and learn to love herself. Based on the 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name written by Alice Walker that was previously adapted by Steven Spielberg into a 1985 Academy Award-nominated film, the musical opened on Broadway in 2005 before kicking off its first national tour in 2007.
Featuring an accomplished ensemble, headlined by a beautifully realized performance by actress Kenita Miller as Celie, The Color Purple—in its current incarnation—boasts one of the more impressive collections of vocals to come to The Fox in quite some time. The show’s score, a great mixture of gospel-infused bombast and soulful laments, is perfectly complemented by the vocals and is perfectly pitched to, at different times, pull at the audience’s heartstrings and whip it up into a frenzy of hallelujahs.
Miller, who previously played the role on Broadway, is a brilliant performer, capturing Celie’s childlike meekness and withdrawn spirit in the musical’s first act before erupting like a butterfly with a guttural yell as the show goes to intermission. With a pure voice and an absolute understanding of Celie that surely comes from spending so much time with the character during the tour, Miller is in 90 percent of the musical, and her shoulders are plenty strong enough to carry it.
In the rest of the cast, Rufus Bonds, Jr. and Stu James are effective—though one is hard-pressed to say appealing in Bonds, Jr.’s case, as his performance as Celie’s husband Mister is a greatly realized brute—but The Color Purple has always been about the women at its heart, and this production is no exception. Especially of note are Angela Robinson as Shug Avery, a singer and ex-girlfriend of Mister whose extroverted exterior conceals a world of self-doubt, and Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Celie’s daughter-in-law whose vitality and refusal to bow down to anyone gives Celie an example of what a proud woman should be. Other than the musical’s title track, Fields’ ode to female empowerment and refusal to submit “Hell No!” might just be the musical’s anthem.
To single out these performances, however, seems almost unnecessary, since, without the ensemble at work here, this musical would not be the accomplishment that it is.
One knock against the show is, perhaps, that the story might be hard to follow for those uninitiated to or unfamiliar with the basic narrative. Though the story is relatively easy to follow, those who have either read the novel or seen the movie are at a distinct advantage in catching up with the show’s characters.
Nevertheless, the intense commitment of the performers to their roles and the soul-stirring music make the show an emotional and enriching experience. The audience leaves with an overwhelming sense of joy and belief in the triumph of the human spirit.
The show will play at the Fox until Feb. 7. Go see it. This is one not to be missed.
More information about the musical can be found at www.colorpurple.com.
For more information about The Fox Theatre and its schedule of upcoming shows, visit www.fabulousfox.com. The theatre is located at 527 North Grand Blvd. in the Grand Center Arts District.