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November 30, 2005 ATLANTA — With promotional help from Oprah
Winfrey and the Empire State Building, a revamped "The Color Purple" gets
its Broadway unveiling Thursday, a little more than a year after its
Atlanta world premiere.
Lead producer Scott Sanders spent nine years and $11 million developing
the musical version of "The Color Purple," based on Georgia native Alice
Walker's beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. He now promises a glitzy
opening-night event. The Empire State Building will be bathed in purple
light, and the purple carpet outside the Broadway Theatre will be plush
with A-list guests: Sidney Poitier, Tina Turner, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy
Joel, Leontyne Price, Clay Aiken and Jason Biggs, to name a few.
The evening's biggest star, of course, will be Winfrey (Tina Turner
was originally offered the role but turned it down), who appeared
in Steven Spielberg's 1985 film version and invested $1 million in the
show — in exchange for an over-the-title producing credit.
"The Color Purple" also will heighten the national profile of Atlanta's
Alliance Theatre, where the early version played to sold-out houses last
fall. But Sanders says the musical, which features a director and
songwriting trio who are new to Broadway, will look much different than it
did here. The changes include new choreography and new material for lead
character Celie, played by Broadway favorite LaChanze, a Sept. 11, 2001,
widow who amassed a loyal fan base while performing in Atlanta.
On the financial side, Sanders says that Winfrey's decision to back the
musical, made just eight weeks before its opening, has been a box-office
catalyst. "We've done a tremendous amount of ticket sales since the
["Color Purple"] cast was on the Oprah show on Nov. 11," Sanders said,
"and several million dollars' worth of tickets in the last 10 days or so."
Early this week, a production representative said advance ticket sales
were between $8 million and $9 million. It won't hurt that the queen of
daytime television is making a rare appearance Thursday on CBS' "Late
Night With David Letterman," her first interview with him in 12 years.
All in all, it has been a fairly smooth creative journey to Broadway, with
only a couple of personnel changes — not bad for a process that requires
enormous amounts of time and money and exhaustive, last-minute revisions.
Librettist Marsha Norman (a Pulitzer Prize winner for " 'Night, Mother")
replaced original playwright Regina Taylor before workshops began in New
York in early 2004, and modern-dance icon Donald Byrd stepped in for
ousted choreographer Ken Roberson after the Alliance tryout. But director
Gary Griffin and songwriters Brenda Russell, Stephen Bray and Allee Willis
have survived the process, as have the entire design team and the bulk of
the cast.
By comparison, Disney's "Aida" — the last Broadway musical to get an
Alliance world premiere — had a much bumpier trajectory, including a
second out-of-town tryout in Chicago and a new director, librettist and
designer after its 1998 Atlanta run.
The Alliance will receive a small royalty from performances of "The Color
Purple." Once the producers' investment is recouped, it will earn a small
percentage of profits. Neither Sanders nor Alliance managing director
Thomas Pechar would spell out the details.
"They do have an ongoing royalty participation in the show," Sanders said.
"Inasmuch as the show will hopefully and eventually be profitable, they
will benefit financially. We clearly are not anywhere close to recoupment
or making a profit at this point, and while we are happy with our ticket
sales, we have a long way to go."
The $11 million investment would be made up in a year if they sell an
average of 75 percent of the tickets at each show, Sanders said. The
tradition of an out-of-town run, in front of a live audience but away from
the glare of the New York critics, is not unusual. It allows for public
feedback and private tweaks.
A recent BusinessWeek article said that Winfrey and Sanders felt that
Celie's songs could be better. On Monday, Sanders clarified that report,
saying they had been fretting over the "character arc" of a heroine who is
invisible at first — but ultimately invincible.
Since Atlanta, "Celie's music has definitely changed," he said, from
lyrics to orchestration to her duet partner. Celie's new song, "I'm Here,"
is now the "11 o'clock number."
No further changes are expected.
"We froze the show last Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving," Sanders
said. "We did work right up until the end and feel very happy with the
changes we made to the show."
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