The Color Purple Live!
The musical is a motion picture under the same title The Color Purple, released December 1985 by Stephen Spielberg, an award-winning director on his ninth film that turned out to be a masterpiece. With cast Whoopi GoldBerg as Celie, Danny Glover as 'Mister', Oprah Winfrey as Sofia, Akusua Busia as Nettie and Margaret Avery as Shug Avery. The film based from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of Alice Walker, also The Color Purple. It is the story of Celie, an African American girl. The story explores on the problems of African American women that includes racism, poverty and sex discrimination, difficult situations faced by these women during the 1900s. Eventually, with the help of two strong women Celie found her self-worth and Celie's character was transformed. The motion picture won 11 Oscar Awards.
The Color Purple held a national tour on April 17, 2007. The extended run of the production started in Chicago, at the Cadillac Palace Theater. The cast production stars Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie, LaToya London as Nettie, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia and Michelle Williams as Shug Avery. Reprising their characters from Broadway are both Bayardelle and Fields.
Awards and nominations garnered by The Color Purple musical came from different award giving bodies. The musical received 11 nominations from Tony Awards that includes Best Musical, Best Music/Lyrics Written for the Theater, Best Book of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and Best Choreography, as well as Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical and Best Set Design of a Musical.