USA: An adaptation of the acclaimed novel, "The Color Purple" makes its Broadway debut.

The musical version of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Color Purple", had its Broadway debut on Thursday (December 01) with a splash of flashbulbs and purple-clad celebrities on a very crowded red carpet. The opening night of the musical was held at The Broadway Theater in upper Manhattan. Folks thronged the street outside the theater to catch a glimpse of the wide array of stars that had arrived to see the play. Acclaimed American talk show host Oprah Winfrey is one of the key producers of the musical. She had played one of the lead roles in the 1985 film adaptation of the play. On the red carpet, she shared many wide smiles, while posing with actresses Ruby Dee and Angela Bassett. Meanwhile, Walker said in an interview on the red carpet that she initially had had apprehensions about the book being adapted into a Broadway musical but that now she quite loved it and saw that it served a very important function. "I think the musical brings out the music from about 40 years of African American life and that was a period that was extremely powerful musically. Some of our best music comes from that period and it is very nice to remind people that we have this very strong foundation of music that inspires and encourages people to rebel, to love, to struggle," she said. As a musical, reviewers are pointing out that "The Color Purple" entertains even while not fully overcoming the problems inherent in translating its sprawling story to the stage. The show does have many strong elements, including a terrific score encompassing blues, gospel and pop and a powerhouse cast of talented performers. But, much as with Steven Spielberg's 1985 film adaptation, the subtleties of Walker's novel often are sacrificed in favour of schematic characterizations and broad sentimentality that undercut its message of female empowerment. In a show of support for the African American story of "The Color Purple" and for one of its key producers, the powerhouse Winfrey, an impressive list of African American celebrities such as singer Tina Turner, supermodel Iman and actors Chris Rock and Chris Tucker made the effort to attend the opening of the play. Actor Jamie Foxx was one of them. "For anybody that has seen the movie, you just really felt that it was so groundbreaking and how our culture changed and everything. And only Oprah Winfrey could do this, bring it to Broadway and I'm sure we're going to be blessed once again," Foxx said. Meanwhile, supermodel Naomi Campbell sang praises of Winfrey, who is said to be a good friend of hers. "She's (Winfrey) wonderful, she's encouraging, she's encouraging me to write a book and she treats me like a little baby. (Pauses) It's gold and it works. She's helped so many people in the world, whatever she puts on her show to help people, their products just sell. She's gold. She's an amazing human being," she said. Musician and actor Sean "P. Diddy" Combs saw the opening of "The Color Purple" as a significant event for people of color. He was last seen on Broadway in the play, "A Raisin in the Sun", also about African Americans. "It's incredible, just starring on Broadway less than a year ago, I mean more than a year ago and now seeing another play come to Broadway with people of color and also produced by Oprah is just incredible. I wouldn't miss it for the world, I'm just so happy and proud to be here," Combs said. The undeniably audience-pleasing show, while a long shot to reach major hit status, is predicted to have a decent Broadway run, thanks in no small part to Winfrey's presence as one of its producers.

ITN Source | December 8, 2005

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