Chicago Tribune: The Broadway musical based on “The Color Purple” tried out in Atlanta in 2004. Sitting there in Georgia, I admired the zest and accessibility of the score and, in particular, the artful and self-effacing way in which Marsha Norman had adapted Alice Walker’s story of a poor African-American woman beset by cruelty and looking in vain for the benevolence of her God.
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Having read "The Color Purple" before I can see where it might be difficult to turn this serious and heavy novel into a Broadway production filled with the same meaning that the novel portrays. It is surprising to me that the idea of producing this show was not dropped after the first attempt. Being such a difficult novel to turn into a show I was lost at the thought that 1. there would even be a big enough audience to sell to and 2. this novel would be produced into a musical in the first place. I am happy to see that the 3rd time’s the charm. The writer of this article seemed surprised as well. There was such a change from the 1st and 2nd productions to the 3rd, Jones' says the show felt reborn. Jones’ briefly talks about the downsides of the auditorium the show is placed in. The proscenium's location is not ideal, although he says “the sound in the ears and feelings in the heart more than compensate.”
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