The Color Purple published in 1982 is a novel composed of letters by Alice Walker. nominated for 11 Academy Awards but didn’t win a single one. It was also nominated for The author won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 along with the National Book Award for Fiction. In 1985 Speilberg produced the seminal award-winning film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and Oprah Winfrey. Believe it or not, the film won four Golden Globe Awards and Goldberg won the Best Actress in a Drama. The American Film Institute ranked the film 51st on its list of the most inspiring movies.
In 2005 the Broadway production with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray was received and earned 11 Tony Award Nominations. Last year the Broadway musical was made into a feature film.
This year our neighborhood theatre The Marietta Theatre in the Square brings The Color Purple the musical to life! Emil Thomas the Executive Artistic Director of the theatre recently completed graduate studies in Theatre and he speaks about his desire to learn more about his craft.
I asked Thomas about his production of The Color Purple story which has been retold by numerous creatives over the years. He shares that he added his focus to the telling in the musical production. He speaks about the talent that will be on the stage for this production. Recently a young actor from the Marietta Theatre in the Square stage made it to a Broadway production. Thomas speaks about the talent that is available for community theatres.
The Local Take Day at the Play comes back on Sunday, September 15th. Join me
at the Marietta Theatre in the Square for the matinee. Get your tickets