A Pulitzer Prize. A National Book Award. 11 Academy Award Nominations. Four Golden Globe Nominations. Three Tony Awards. Few stories have had the cultural significance and lasting power of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.
Beloved by audiences worldwide, The Color Purple traces one woman’s fraught journey towards freedom and self-love. It begins with 14-year-old Celie Harris, pregnant with her second child and the victim of unspeakable cruelty at the hands of her male family members. As she comes of age, her babies are taken from her, she is married off to an abusive husband, and her sister runs away, leaving Celie gut-wrenchingly alone, spirit broken.
Step by tiny step — and with the help of two courageous Black women — our hero rises up, gains her independence, and rebuilds her life from scratch.
The musical adaptation of The Color Purple features awe-inspiring soul, gospel, jazz, and blues vocals underpinned by raw dialogue and a masterful plot. It is a triumphant, uplifting piece of art that reaffirms some fundamental truths: that Black is beautiful, that women are powerful, and that love is love.
Based upon the novel written by Alice Walker and the Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment motion picture
Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray
Directed by Dee DuVall & Kila Adams
Produced by Urban Musical Theatre
This presentation is a licensed event and not affiliated directly with the nonprofit Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
