"The Color Purple"

So, this morning I woke up at 7 and went to my two classes at 8 and 9:30. Then, realizing that, by a stroke of genius, I had inadvertently scheduled my classes and work so I could attend Wednesday matinees of Broadway shows if desired, I went to the Broadway Theatre on 53rd Street to buy a rush ticket to the matinee. Having read a lot online about how a lot of people rush the show, creating a need to come early, when I got there there was no one in line. I got my Row B ticket and came back to my room to eat. Anyway, I thought that Row B was the second row, but, when I arrived I realized I was in the front row center seat.

Anyway, the show was absolutely spectacular! I rented the movie a while back in anticipation of the musical, figuring that I'd like to see it just in case I saw the show. The show was definitely comparable to (better than in some aspects) the movie. The cast was absolutely top-knotch, particularly LaChanze, a personal favorite of mine from several cast recordings like Dessa Rose and Once On This Island. She embodied Celie so beautifully, and watching her journey from timid young girl to confident older woman is absolutely amazing. I don't know if another actress could pull it off quite like she could. In the Oprah Winfrey role of the movie (LaChanze played the Whoopi Goldberg role), Felicia P. Fields shone as well. It's hard to believe the show is her Broadway debut, but I hear she's a Chicago favorite. When we find out her character, Sofia, has stood up to the mayor's wife and she has been beaten, Fields is able to embody her pain with such wonderful skill.

Besides for the performances, the music in the show was also really enjoyable. It wasn't a masterpiece or anything musically, but the point of a story like The Color Purple is to get to the heart of the story but to also remain accessible. A lot of the audience members were talking about the movie and the book, so I assumed most were familiar with the story. Anyway, the songs were great, particularly "What About Love?" and "I'm Here." I can't wait for the cast recording, which will be released next Tuesday. They were selling them early at the theatre, but for a steep price of $25.

The Color Purple was certainly one of the most emotional shows I've ever seen on Broadway. Plenty of musicals entertain me, but not a whole lot of them really move me emotionally. I have to say that, during this show, I was near the point of tears on a few occasions, and I could hear sniffling from the audience behind me and beside me at several points during the show, particularly toward the end. I read a lot of reviews of the show and most were concerned with the quick pace of the show and how a lot of plot has to be crammed into a show about 2 hours and 45 minutes long, but I had no problem with the flow of the story. I think there was plenty of time to develop the characters so I cared about them and that the music really heightened the story. Besides for a few things that seemed out of place, it was an incredible show that I'd highly recommend to anyone with a heart. Hell, the show even got me to leave the theatre humming "The good Lord works in mysterious ways" and "God is inside me."