Reviewed by Judy Richter
It's an ambitious undertaking with a 23-member, mostly black cast telling a story that spans nearly 40 years (1909 to 1945) in the life of a black woman in the South.
That woman, Celie (Leslie Ivy), is first seen as a 14-year-old impregnated for the second time by Pa (Andy Serrano), the man she believes to be her father. After the baby is born, Pa says he'll get rid of it, just as he did the other child, much to Celie's distress.
A neighboring farmer Mr. ____ (Anthone D. Jackson), calls on Pa hoping to marry Celie's beloved younger sister, Nettie (Jacqueline Dennis), but winds up with Celie instead. After staving off advances by both Pa and Mr. ____, Nettie leaves, again to Celie's distress.
Celie's life with Mr. ____ is just as miserable as it was with Pa. She's nothing more than a servant whom he mistreats and abuses. However, her fortunes begin to change when Shug Avery (Dawn L. Troupe), a popular singer and Mr.'s ____ longtime lover, moves in with them and sings at the juke joint owned by his son Harpo (Brian M. Landry).
Eventually Celie breaks away from Mr. ____, learns about real love thanks to Shug, gains self-respect and becomes a successful business woman, first in Memphis and then back in her hometown of Eatonton, Ga.
The story unfolds episodically, but the set by Kuo-Hao Lo (lighting by Don Coluzzi) accommodates quick scene changes. Costumes by Margaret Toomey help to define changing times.
Besides those already mentioned, the other major character is Harpo's wife, Sofia (Jihan Sabir), a strong-willed woman who refuses to be subservient to anyone, a trait that proves costly.
Three Church Ladies, played by Ladidi Garba, Debra Harvey and Pam Drummer-Williams, serve as a kind of Greek chorus, commenting on the action. Others in the cast play a variety of characters.
Overall, the performance level is quite high by everyone, especially the principals. Choreography by Jayne Zaban is outstanding, especially in the juke joint scene, "Push Da Button." The men's dancing is especially notable.
The singing is generally quite good under the leadership of musical director Greg Sudmeier, who is Foster's husband and who also is leaving the company. Much of the musical accompaniment is recordings from Right On Cue Services.
However, the lyrics are often difficult to follow because of diction and the Southern black dialect. Compounding the comprehension problem is Alan Chang's sound design, which is so loud that it distorts the lyrics.
"The Color Purple" began life as a 1982 novel by Alice Walker of San Francisco. From there it became the 1985 film that helped launch the career of Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia. She subsequently became one of the producers bringing the story to the Broadway musical stage in 2005. The national tour came to San Francisco in 2007.
Marsha Norman adapted the musical from Walker's book. The music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray encompass several styles such as gospel, blues, honky-tonk and ragtime.
The two-act production at Hillbarn clocks in at nearly three hours, in part due to long restroom lines at intermission but in larger part due to the show itself. Despite the many years that it covers, some scenes seem expendable, especially in the second act. It opens with two long scenes from Africa, where Nettie has become a missionary who has Celie's children with her. Only the first scene, which has some terrific dancing, works well. Another expendable scene is "Is There Anything I Can Do for You?" a duet for Harpo and Sofia. It's well done but doesn't do much to advance the story, especially since the adaptation is a bit short on developing some characters and clarifying some plot details.
Despite shortcomings in the show itself, this production serves it well, thanks in large part to a talented, energetic, committed cast and Foster's astute direction.