Alice Walker is an American Master and author of The Color Purple, the acclaimed novel that received the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and the National Book Award for Fiction. The story was adapted for the musical The Color Purple, which premiered on Broadway on December 1, 2005 and earned 11 Tony Award nominations. LaChanze won the 2006 Tony for Best Performances by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
A revival of the musical arrives on Broadway starting November 6 (official opening on December 10) and the full cast, to be directed by Tony winner John Doyle, was announced this week. Previously announced lead performers are Cynthia Erivo (Celie; the book’s protagonist and narrator), who starred in the 2013 London production; Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson (Shug Avery, Mister’s mistress), in her official Broadway debut; Orange Is the New Black star Danielle Brooks (Sofia, Celie’s daughter-in-law); Isaiah Johnson (Mister, Celie’s husband) from Broadway’s Peter and the Starcatcher and The Merchant of Venice; Joaquina Kalukango (Nettie, Celie’s younger sister); and Broadway regular Kyle Scatliffe (Harpo, Celie’s stepson), formerly seen in Les Miserables, Side Show, Peter and the Starcatcher, and The Merchant of Venice.
For more on the Broadway creative team and cast of The Color Purple, see the official Broadway show site.
Alice Walker is the subject of American Masters – Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, which is available to view on this site. In the excerpt below, Walker reads a passage from The Color Purple — a letter Celie writes to her sister Nettie. See our full film and more information about Alice Walker.