A Nearly Perfect Show

I just got back to my hotel room after The Color Purple and figured I should review this while it’s still fresh. This show just wrecked me. It was that rarest of rare shows where you leap to your feet when it’s over. No hesitations. Fantasia from that reality show played the lead, Celie and she was the embodiment of that character. She exuded a quiet and vulnerable strength that just bided its time till it could blossom, and when it did it was beautiful. It’s a terrific, triumphant, cathartic story that absolutely cannot fail to move its audience. Fantasia’s voice was a bit ragged. I’m thinking the 8 shows a week is not something she’s been trained for. But even that slightly raw edge served her character well. The ensemble is terrific, the score is heavenly and all serve the story at every step of the way. The show could probably have been improved with a little careful editing. It’s an epic story and there were a few parts that might get trimmed when the show is readied for the road. That could make it even better. There’s nothing in the show that couldn’t be included on the touring company. I think this show will do very well on the road.

Oh and one more thing. There’s a term in show business called Showstopper. It’s a performance during the show, not at the end, that is so good that the audience can’t contain itself and just has to applaud as long as it needs to in order to get it’s adulation properly expressed. The term exists but the phenomenon really doesn’t anymore. The history of reviews and show people’s biographies record when this happened in the annals of the Theatre but it’s just not seen on today’s stages. Well there’s a part in the story where Celie has her moment when she realizes that she doesn’t need anyone else to validate her. She comes to realize her own worth and self esteem for the first time and she slays us with a searing ballad. The audience stopped the show.