‘The Color Purple’ retells rich story on Rep stage

Christina Acosta Robinson as Shug Avery (center) and cast dance in Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse production of “The Color Purple.”

Photo by Michael Brosilow

Christina Acosta Robinson as Shug Avery (center) and cast dance in Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse production of “The Color Purple.”

“The Color Purple,” a glorious musical saga featuring an outstanding, multi-talented cast, opened in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Quadracci Powerhouse on Sept. 26.
The audience was eagerly engaged, awaiting each act that told this compelling story through poetic song. The theatrics were nothing short of amazing and the astounding voices of each character complemented their role. The epic performance told a profound story of redemption and triumph against all odds.
Despite some of the negative feedback from critics on the portrayal of African-American culture and its possible damaging and inaccurate outlook on their families, it continues to be a contemporary classic of African- American literary, film and theatrical canon.
Entrenched in the real experiences of the early 1910s, it also speaks to topics that are prevalent in our contemporary society. This musical version of “The Color Purple,” directed by Mark Clements, was translated extremely well to the audience by bringing each character to life through harmonious songs of love, betrayal, forgiveness and victory.
This epistolary novel tells the story of a young girl in the rural area of Georgia named Celie who shares a story of perseverance through pain and doubt as she looks to God for explanation and graciousness.
Celie was raped by her father to whom she bore two children; Adam and Olivia. After Celie’s mother dies, Pa, father to Celie and Nettie, expresses that they will not be able to take care of the children so he gives them away directly after their birth.
The story proceeds with letters to God from Celie asking for answers in prayer. As Pa’s daughters grow older, a character named Mister comes to ask for Nettie’s hand in marriage. She is the attractive and intelligent sister, and the one Mister desires.
After pestering and pleading for Nettie’s hand, Pa decides to give away the “ugly” sister Celie instead, along with the gift of a cow. After Celie leaves to take care of her husband and his four children, Pa begins to desire Nettie in an inappropriate way. She pleads to live with Celie and Mister but will not comply with his sexual advances and so is banned from their home and Celie’s life forever.
In Nettie’s goodbye, she promises to write Celie every day and vows that nothing can keep them apart. Finding the letters from Nettie that Mister has hid for five years is an essential part of Celie’s story and serves as a catalyst for Celie’s transformation.
According to Alice Walker, the author of “The Color Purple,” “It seems that the characters in the novel are unusual, that what is happening to them is unusual, but actually it’s happening somewhere on your block almost every minute. All the trouble, all the trials and tribulations of Celie are happening to people all over the planet right now.”
As the play continued, the audience was introduced to many characters that play a prominent role in Celie’s life. Sofia, a very strong African woman, marries Harpo, the son of Mister. The audience laughed when Sofia used her famous line in the play, “You told Harpo to beat me?”
The story takes a turn when Sofia is beaten by the townspeople and put in jail for refusing to be the maid of a white woman. Harpo, also the step-son to Celie, adores her and seeks meaningful advice as a young adult, father and husband.
Harpo grows successful in his career opening the town’s “juke joint”. Shug Avery, the never forgotten love of Mister and the town’s superstar, thinks that Celie “sho is ugly.” She soon grows to love Celie and the good nature of her heart and loving spirit as Celie nurtures Shug back to health after coming home thin, frail and discouraged. After finding the letters from Nettie, Celie learns that her sister is alive and that her children, Adam and Olivia, are doing well in Africa being raised by the minister’s family and Nettie.
Shug, forever grateful for Celie’s kindness, takes Celie away from Mister. As Celie leaves, she curses him by saying that he will never be successful in any endeavor until he does right by her.
The play ends in a peaceful song of prayer. The father who had raped and beaten Celie as a child has passed. Mister grew to be kind and loving, asking for Celie’s forgiveness and for her true hand in marriage.
Although she refuses, she does forgive him. Celie is finally united with her sister and children, Adam and Olivia. The town gathers hands and sings a hymn of thanks and a repetitious amen.
As the crowd applauded with a standing ovation, the cast bowed. Musical directors Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray and the amazing cast of “The Color Purple” put on a phenomenal performance. Thank you, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, for a job well done.