The Color Purple

The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on December 1, 2005. The Color Purple is directed by Gary Griffin, produced by Scott Sanders (Producer), Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey, with choreography by Donald Byrd. It features music and lyrics written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, with a book by Marsha Norman.

A national tour of "The Color Purple" began April 17, 2007, starting with an extended run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The company includes LaToya London as Nettie, Michelle Williams as Shug Avery, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, and Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie. Bayardelle and Fields both are reprising their roles from Broadway. The show exceeded revised expectations, which necessitated a four week extension of its Chicago engagement until September 30, 2007. However, the original expectation was that the show would run in Chicago until November. The second stop on the national tour was a San Francisco, California engagement.