The Broadway musical The Color Purple is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker of the same name. It deals with many serious issues that many African-American people have to deal with. It is a soul stirring story which touches people’s hearts as it portrays love, betrayal, friendship, hatred and survival. It is a story of hope, inspiration and triumph. In 1985, Steven Spielberg made a film of the same name. After the success of the novel and the film, producer Scott Sanders decided to bring it to Broadway.

He received a lot of flak for that decision as nobody believed he could portray the story on stage as well as it was on the screen. Besides, making a musical on a story with issues of sexual abuse, domestic violence and racial prejudice seemed an impossible task. Most critics said that the performances in the film by Whoopi Goldberg, Dan Glover and Oprah Winfrey, would never be matched on stage. But he stood by his beliefs and after eight years, he finally achieved his dream.

“The Color Purple" opened to public on December 1, 2005 and received rave reviews as well as numerous Tony Award nominations in 2006, including Best Musical. The story was adapted for stage by Marsha Norman the director is Gary Griffin with lyrics and music done by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. It is choreographed by Donald Byrd. The cast includes Fantasia as Celie, Natasha Yvette White as Sofia and Alton Fitzgerald White as Mister. It is co-produced by Oprah Winfrey who played the role of Sofia in the film.

The story of “The Color Purple" revolves around the life of a young 14 year old girl Celie who is sexually abused by her stepfather and has two babies as a result. These babies are given away and she is told that they have been taken away to be with God. She is then married off to a widower who has several children and is physically abused by him. She has a sister Nettie who runs away and promises to write to her, but believes her to be dead as she never receives any letters from her. Thereafter the story progresses by showing how Celie deals with her abusive husband, makes a new friend and discovers that her sister Nettie is still alive. In the end, everything works out fine for Celie, who rediscovers love and hope, and is reunited with her sister and children.

The story and characters are brought out vividly on stage with a mix of dance and music like jazz, blues, swing and African music. It is an impressive production and a landmark Broadway event which proved all of Scott Sander’s critics wrong.

Tickets for The Color Purple can be bought directly from the Broadway theater box office. To get tickets at the best price, you should buy them weeks in advance to avoid disappointment. Your other options would be to order them online for which you would have to pay a little extra for the tickets being home delivered.