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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Theater review: ‘Color Purple’ is compelling musical

“The Color Purple,” INB Performing Arts Center, Wednesday night Sure, I had doubts about “The Color Purple” as a musical. Does a sweeping saga about domestic abuse in rural Georgia really lend itself to show tunes? After seeing the first-rate national touring production at the INB Performing Arts Center, the answer is an unqualified yes. If you have vivid, fully drawn characters; a compelling, concisely told story; and a rousing musical score, you can set a musical anywhere and address any tough topic. It helps that “The Color Purple” is not, of course, really about domestic abuse. It’s about Celie, twice an unwed mother at age 14, and how she rises above her rough personal and marital history to become the strong, proud, confident woman who was hidden inside all along. The great thing about “The Color Purple” is that this story does not seem merely like an easy, empowering, “uplifting” life-lesson. It feels simply like a remarkable, emotional, American life story. I dare you to remain dry-eyed in the powerful, touching finale in which Celie’s life comes full circle. Two elements stand out. First, the musical score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray is bursting with wah-wah trumpet, bluesy guitar and soaring gospel crescendos. The songs include the hallelujah-choir rouser “Mysterious Ways,” the raucous and rockin’ “Hell No!,” the country bluesy “Brown Betty” and the juke-joint jive of “Push Da Button.” Second, this production gives us exceptionally vivid, three-dimensional characters, whom we can love, loathe, empathize with and, often, laugh at. The credit for this begins with Alice Walker, who first created the memorable characters of Celie, Sofia, Shug Avery, Harpo and Mister. Then we can credit Marsha Norman, who expertly captured them in the musical’s book. And finally, we can give credit to a thoroughly professional cast, for bringing these characters fully alive. One of the clear audience favorites on opening night was Felicia P. Fields, who made Sofia into a bodacious force-of-nature with a jumbo-sized libido and a rasp-saw voice. She turns the song “Hell No!” into a foot-stomping anthem of female assertiveness. No wonder Fields earned a Tony nomination when she knocked ‘em dead in the same role on Broadway. I also liked Jenna Ford Jackson, who stepped in on Wednesday night as an understudy in the role of the saucy Shug Avery. It was easy to see why practically all of the main characters in this show – male and female – fall deeply and hopelessly in love with Shug. Yet the star of the show, without a doubt, is the exceptional Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie. Bayardelle has the uncommon ability to express the most complicated and subtle emotions with just a turn of the head, a widening of the eyes, a slowly growing smile. It’s hard enough to pull that off in a movie close-up; it’s especially impressive in a hall that seats nearly 3,000. Bayardelle also has a fine, strong voice, showed off to stunning effect near the finale when she rears back and holds one powerful, controlled note for what seemed like at least 30 seconds. Less flashy, but even more effective, was the way she transformed herself from Mister’s shrunken, withdrawn whipping-girl into a woman who won’t stand, for one more second, to be treated as a domestic servant. The production values are Broadway-quality, with a vast wooden-fence archway framing an abstract backdrop of field and sky. The six-piece pit combo, led by Sheilah Walker, knows how to swing, sway and wail. Producer Scott Sanders said that his goal with this show was to create nothing less than an African-American “Fiddler on the Roof.” That’s a tall order, but “The Color Purple” comes much closer than I imagined possible.