The Color Purple

Schedule

Fri Aug 02 2024 at 08:00 pm to 10:30 pm

Location

MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston | Houston, TX

The Garden Theatre, one of Houston’s newest theatre companies, and The Sankofa Collective, which is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary, have announced plans to bring the musical version of the beloved The Color Purple to life at MATCH. With a lively score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music, and blues, the production will run August 2-4, 2024 at Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston (3400 Main St.).
“I've lived with this world and these characters my entire life - from being introduced to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by my grandmother, to obsessing over the hit Whoopi Goldberg film, to being a part of one of the first high school productions of the musical adaptation - The Color Purple will always be ancestral and familiar,” says The Sankofa Collective Founding Artistic Director Alric Davis, who is also co-directing the production. “I look forward to working closely with Logan and The Garden Theatre to uplift local performers, introduce audiences to modern musical theatre and stake our claim to this epic American story.”
"I have loved this story since my early teens, and I can’t contain my excitement to bring it to the stage for the first time with an all local, professional cast,” says The Garden Theatre founding artistic director and co-director of The Color Purple, Logan Vaden. “Getting to do it alongside Alric and his fantastic Sankofa Collective is the icing on what is surely to be an already delicious cake. Having the opportunity for two local companies to work hand in hand to bring this show to the stage is the epitome of a theatre dream.”
In the early 1900s in rural Georgia, Celie is a teenager giving birth for the second time. When her father offers her to a local farmer in need of a woman to raise his children, she is torn from her beloved younger sister and begins to learn about the world outside her family’s humble residence. As years pass by, Celie becomes resigned to her unfortunate circumstances, but when newcomers Sofia and Shug enter and bring their fresh perspective, she begins to understand that there must be more to life.
The Color Purple features music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, and a book by Marsha Norman. The musical is based on the American classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Alice Walker in 1982. The book was adapted into a film in 1985, directed by Stephen Spielberg, and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Danny Glover. Winfrey produced the Tony-nominated Broadway adaptation, which opened in 2005 and ran until 2008. The musical received a Broadway revival starring Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson, and Danielle Brooks, opening in 2015. A film based on the Broadway musical was released in 2023, starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks. Because of its vast legacy in print, on stage, and film, The Color Purple has a pop culture staple.
Leading the cast of The Color Purple are all local professionals including April Wheat as Celie, Tatianna Mott as Shug Avery, Nicole Gee as Sofia, Pharaoh Mouton as Mister, Bralyn Medlock as Harpo, Rachel Omotoso as Nettie, and Crayten Clendion as Squeak. The ensemble includes Ambi Anuh-Ndumu, Rita Hughes, Destiny Webb, David Allen III, Treashana Baker, Ali Hits, Aria Hope, Ramaj Jamar, Danielle James, Clarence Jerome, Dwayne Lee, Khadijah “Diva Dijah” Marie, Oak Morse, and Turell Robins. Rounding out the cast are swings, Erica Bolden-Howard and Samuel Jones. The production team consists of Co-Directors Alric Davis and Logan Vaden, Choreographer Kahlil Cabble, Music Director John-Alan Gourdine, Technical Director Nicholas White, Intimacy Director Whitney Zangarine, Fight Choreographer Jay Gracia, Costume Designer Teacake Ferguson, and Stage Manager Morgan Kaupert.
The Color Purple will run for five performances only from August 2-4, 2024 at MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston; 3400 Main St. Houston, TX 77002). Adult tickets range from $30-$35. Student and senior tickets are$25-$30. Tickets are available on either theatres’ websites at www.thegardentheatre.org or www.sankofacollectivehouston.com or by calling the MATCH box office at 713-521-4533.

Where is it happening?

MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston, 3400 Main St, Houston, TX 77002-9515, United States,Houston, Texas

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Host or Publisher The Garden Theatre

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