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Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Color Purple Also see Richard's review of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
Perhaps most importantly, director Bryant's astonishingly well-modulated Color Purple marks the beginning of The St. Louis Black Repertory's fiftieth season in St. Louis. And you could hardly ask for a better tribute to their company founder and artistic director, Ron Himes. The musical began its life 19 years after the film, in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre in 2004, before opening on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre in late 2005 where it ran for about three years. It has a somewhat different narrative structure from the movie. And don't ask me about the novel, because the first page was so rough that I never got any further than that. But I can deal with anything if you set it to music, with all the rhyme and reason the story gains here. And with a deliriously great cast like this, the high quality choreography of Heather Beal seems light years beyond anything I'd been expecting. The nearly perfect costumes are by Jarrod Barnes, with completely unassailable music direction by Jermaine Manor conducting an eight-piece band. And his vocal arrangements on stage just won't quit. The whole thing runs about two hours and forty-five minutes, which sounds like a lot. But every moment is torrid as indigo, or hypnotic as ultraviolet. Angela Wildflower is Celie, the "ugly" girl that none of the men want–and possibly the least likely "leading lady" in the musical theatre canon. But you can see the hand of fate pushing her along, in her powerless bemusement, as a circle of devoted friends surrounds her. And, ultimately, Ms. Wildflower seems like the greatest of all the musical heroines, when she's belting out "I'm Here" near the end. Then there's an appalling minute-long "hold" right after that, for a complicated costume change that somehow never got ironed out. Everything else about this Color Purple radiates perfection, at every wavelength, so I hate to make a big deal out of this one incredibly obvious flaw. This is why God made Velcro, people.* Anyway, it's a beautiful show, except it seems the life-support gets unplugged for that long minute, as we listen helplessly for breath and feel for a pulse, before the show's dénouement. The more likely leading lady, Shug, plays second banana here, as a source of wonderment to the men-folk. She's played beautifully on multiple levels by Alexis J. Roston. And her same-sex romantic moment with Ms. Wildflower seems perfectly innocent here, putting a long-denied level of tenderness into Celie's life. Morgan Taylor is stirring and lovely as Celie's sister Nettie, and Adrienne Spann is fantastic as Sophia, especially when she recovers herself, after being beaten into silence in act two. Everyone is so precise and perfect on stage, as if director Bryant had cast a spell on them, as new creators of a great American story. Brian McKinley is Harpo, husband to Sophia, and J. Samuel Davis is Ol' Mister, the man who seems to have ruined Celie's life. Kelvin Roston, Jr. (real-life husband of this production's Shug) is Mister, who hides a stack of correspondence from Celie that would make everything right again. He smoothly manages his own transition on stage from villain to sympathy. Meanwhile, ferociously talented singers and lively dancers weave seamlessly through it all, as if some mighty god ordained it. It's so far above what I've grown to expect, full of heart and professionalism, and with a very fine set by Tim Jones. Tyler White is great fun as a waitress in the juke joint, and there's a fantastic chorus comprising Anita Jackson, Amber Rose, and Olivia Neal in this sprawling but fast-moving story of hopelessness gradually turning to hope. It's not quite history, and not quite legend. But somehow it feels like both. The Color Purple, produced by The St. Louis Black Repertory, runs through September 27, 2026, at the Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Blvd., St. Lous MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.theblackrep.org. Cast: The Black Rep Band: Production Staff: * Velcro was originally conceived by Swiss engineer George de Mestral in 1941. ** Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association |
