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The Color Purple

THE COLOR PURPLE is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.

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Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Drama

  • Time Period: 1920s, 1930s, 1910s / WWI, 1900-1910
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre
THE COLOR PURPLE is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.

This musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film) spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story. With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life.

With a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, THE COLOR PURPLE premiered at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia and opened on Broadway on November 1, 2005. It was nominated for eleven 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score.

Characters

  • Casting: 1M, 6F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Minority casting
  • Chorus Size: Flex-size Ensemble

  • CELIE (African-American, 20s-early 30s): Drives the story. Vulnerable, spirited, introverted, mischievous, seemingly passive but really not, has a deep, hard soul, believes that she is ugly, has a sense of humor which is sometimes wicked. She is an observer. Needs a great belt singing voice with lots of soul.

  • SHUG (African-American, 30s-40s): A popular singer, we meet her at death's door. Attractive, confident, dynamic, powerful, irresistible, but has a frailty, like a wounded animal. Her vulnerability is shocking later on. She is loved by both Celie and Mister. Needs a knockout, Bessie Smith-style, bluesy singing voice.

  • MISTER (African-American, 30s-40s. Also known as ALBERT): Like Celie, a deep well. Handsome, big, masculine, strong presence, dominating, capable of brutal behavior but also a victim in his own way. Gets his power for free. Married to Celie, he abuses her. He is in love with Shug. He transforms to a kind man by the end of the story. Needs a great singing voice.

  • SOFIA (African-American, 30s): Powerful warrior woman. Physically bigger but beautiful. Comfortable being large, great sense of humor, touching, vulnerable. Married to Harpo, she does not let anyone mistreat her. Needs comic chops. Needs a great belt singing voice.

  • HARPO (African-American, 20s): Mister's vulnerable, confused, good-hearted son. Represents the new generation. He marries the independent Sofia. He spends much time trying to get Sofia to obey him the way Celie obeys his father, but he is unsuccessful, as Sofia is considerably stronger than he is. Harpo eventually establishes a jukejoint in his first house and becomes Squeak's lover. Later, he and Sofia reconcile. Through his love of Sofia, he learns how to love a woman. Needs a great tenor singing voice.

  • NETTIE (African-American, 20s): Celie's younger sister. Attractive, adventuresome, feisty spirit, maternal, more educated and knowledgeable than Celie. She has a powerful bind with Celie. Forced by Mister to leave Celie, she starts a new life in Africa. Needs a great belt singing voice with African influence.

  • SQUEAK (African-American, 20s): Harpo's lover after Sofia leaves him. Although she is mistreated, she eventually undergoes a transformation, demanding to be called by her actual name, Mary Agnes, and starting a new life. She is of mixed ancestry. Attractive, sassy, fiery, strong-willed, unafraid to take anybody on, has a caring heart. Needs comic chops. Needs a great singing voice with belt and soprano capability.

  • ADULT SINGERS: Males and females, 20s-50s, African-American. All types and singing ranges. Need fantastic singing voices and dynamic personalities. To play various roles in the ensemble, the ensemble includes a trio known as Church Ladies, busybody types who are featured throughout the show. And CHILD SINGERS (One African-American male 9-12 years old and three African-American females 9-12 years old. Need strong singing voices and dynamic personalities).

    • Ensemble Roles:
    YOUNG NETTIE
    MISTER'S DAUGHTER
    YOUNG CELIE
    YOUNG OLIVIA
    HENRIETTA
    CHURCH SOLOIST
    CHURCH LADY DORIS
    CHURCH LADY DARLENE
    CHURCH LADY JARENE
    DAISY
    PREACHER
    PRISON GUARD
    PA
    YOUNG HARPO
    YOUNG ADAM
    SQUEAK
    OL' MISTER
    BUSTER
    CHIEF
    GRADY
    BOBBY
    OLDER OLIVIA
    OLDER ADAM

    Available Material

    Name Price
    Digital Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Script / Vocal Book / Score Sampler
    Once purchased a link will be emailed to you allowing the download to take place.

    		$10.00
    Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    1 x Director's Script
    1 x Cast Script/Vocal Book
    1 x Piano-Vocal Score

    		$75.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    25 x Cast Scripts/Vocal Books
    3 x Director's Scripts
    2 x Piano Conductor's Scores

    		$550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    1 x Piano-Conductor (Keyboard I)
    1 x Keyboard II (Keyboard, Shaker)
    1 x Reed I (Alto Sax, Clarinet, Flute)
    1 x Reed II (Bari Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax)
    1 x Trumpet (Trumpet, Flugelhorn)
    1 x Guitar (Acoustic, Electric, Dobro, Harmonica)
    1 x Bass (Acoustic, Electric)
    1 x Drums (Drum Set, Tambourine, Triangle, Vibraphone, Cowbell, Shaker, Djembe, Rainstick, Ankle Bones, Xylophone, Mark Tree)

    		$350.00 +$135.00/pm
    Show|Ready Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    With Show|Ready, you can virtually send your Musical Director home with each and every member of your cast! Show|Ready allows you to play a customizable rehearsal track of your show, complete with individual vocal parts and all dance breaks on a Mac, PC, and soon on your iOS device. Your Musical Director simply uploads any edits made at that day's rehearsal and your cast can access and download the newest version with all of the new changes! This enables your entire cast to rehearse correctly from the beginning, saving you valuable time and effort.

    With an intuitive interface, Show|Ready gives you complete control over which parts you hear, and lets you modify the key or tempo and cut, vamp, or repeat measures as you please. All shows include the piano, bass, drum, and all vocal parts, as well as a sheet music viewer that automatically displays the piano/conductor score and changes the page as you listen and navigate throughout the show.

    		$300.00
    Stage|Tracks Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks, edited to integrate your individual changes from Show|Ready. With the best sounding tracks at an affordable price, Stage|Tracks will greatly enhance your production if you do not have live musicians to accompany the show. However, you should be advised that while Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks of the full orchestration, it is not recommended to be used alongside live musicians.

    PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE FOR A QUOTE.

    		$0.00

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