When a fallen woman screams out dear God from the floor of the stage of the cavernous Pantages Theatre, you wonder whether theres a chance its actually rousing enough that some heavenly being might indeed be listening.
Emotion and technique swallow the audience in the trimmed, tight revival ofThe Color Purple,making its way around the country after a rapturous 2015 reception (and two Tony Awards) on Broadway.
Unlike the slight dip in excellence that can occasionally plague a national tour, theres likely no better touring company on the road right now than the players who opened director John Doyles production in its Los Angeles leg on May 29.
Credit: Matthew Murphy
With Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Brays score looking ever more likely to become a theater classic,The Color Purpleis a show that relies heavily on its ensemble, effortlessly characterized here and filled with the kind of exquisite voices and commanding stage presences that turn unnamed faces into memorable individuals.
But they are led in sound and spirit by Adrianna Hicks, who formidably steps into the lead role of Celie after serving as a swing on Broadway.
That part, as imagined in Doyles effectively swift production, turned Tony winner Cynthia Erivo into a stage star; Hicks is, happily, every bit as powerful and precise as her predecessor.
She plays the decade-spanning role of besieged protagonist Celie with a different sense of introspection here, she is more hollow than seething, more toughened than traumatized by the world around her.
Hicks choices expertly build out a longer arc for Celies eventual emergence as a transformed woman, culminating not just in a cathartic Im Here that shakes the rafters but, rather, a Miss Celies Pants that steals some of her own blissful thunder.
While Hicks contends with able foils in supporting players like Gavin Gregorys tragic Mister and Carla R. Stewarts vexing Shug, Hicks is by far in her best company with Carrie Compere, whose interpretation of Celies fearless friend Sofia is the finest take on the role Ive seen.
Compere shines opposite an animated J. Daughtry as her lover Harpo, the two feeding the audience like a well-seasoned sitcom couple, but Comperes creation becomes something else entirely (long before her physical downfall) when she dominates the stage with a slower, heavier Hell No!
She sings about sisterhood and self-worth, and when shes joined by the female members of the ensemble, the song becomes an anthem perhaps mightier than even intended.
To say nothing of Comperes impressive vocals, if Im Here in a post-Times Up world is explosive, Hell No is meteoric and a surprise showstopper in act one.
Arriving amid a moment when several touring productions are operating at the top of their game (HamiltonandSomething Rotten!among them),The Color Purplefeels the most urgent of anything currently on the road, a fine-tuned and provocative piece worth absorbing.
Perhaps its an even better compliment to argue that this production is a compelling case for a reverse course back to Broadway; upon the tours conclusion, there is no conceivable reason why this important and effective production should not find itself right back in New York where its warmth, talent, and necessary messages about self can stand to dig deep into the earth, settle in, and continue showing what the fuss is about.A
