The Color Purple in Concert

It was interesting being at the front as wel, the people all around me were on their own, and no joke, when we were chatting pre-show, pretty much everyone said as soon as they saw Marisha, Rachel and Tyrone listed in the cast list ahead of time, they booked instantly because they had either seen them or had heard about them. And there was alot of tears down the front, I was pretty much an emotional wreck at several points in the proceedings.

Spoilers follow. . .

Snutte, All I mean is that, for me, the book goes too far down the men-are-awful route. No men are decent, all women are decent. Dad rapes and beats his own step-daughter, man systematically beats his wife, other man cheats on women without a care, redemption merely amounts to "oh I feel a little regret, now that you've left me, please take me back." Frankly, I'd expect him to start beating her again if she did, as actions speak louder than words  (especially the words of someone who wants something).

For me, Dreamgirls is far better and more sophisticated in it's depiction of myriad kinds of men, and the way they mistreat women. I compare it, as it's got the same feminist trajectory of an underdog woman defining herself, in a world of abusive men.

Then again, the show really worked for me tonight. So what I'm saying is, I'm rethinking these thoughts now. I'm open to hearing anything about this.

DanielJohnson14, I was next to you, I realise, re-reading the thread. I was in CC8. Your bouts of crying were as infectious as sneezes, as I found myself crying too shortly after lol. Nice to meet you.

I definitely booked because I wanted to see Marisha Wallace, based on some youtube clips of her, having missed her in Dreamgirls. She's as good an actor as a singer, so I hope to see her in Dreamgirls sometime, which I've only seen with Amber Riley, previously.

I'm afraid I didn't love this as much as a lot of the rest of you seem to have done. I agree with pretty much all of what HereForTheatre said.

I think I was spoilt by seeing the Broadway production, because I couldn't help but compare it to this - not the production, of course, as this was just in concert, but the vocals and acting.

In that respect, I don't think Marisha lived up to Cynthia, though I doubt anyone can in that role as I can't imagine a better, more nuanced Celie than Cynthia's.

Overall, Marisha was very, very good for the most part, particularly in Act 1. I can certainly see why she's had such hype for her performances in Dreamgirls - she's got one hell of a set of vocal chords! However, I think all Celie performances to a certain extent stand or fall on I'm Here, and unfortunately that is where I thought Marisha's performance didn't work. She was clearly giving it her all, and there is no doubt she was pouring emotion into it, but for me she overdid it in the second half of the song, to the point where it seemed almost to be screaming for the sake of screaming, and the heart of the piece got lost. At the start it was beautifully measured and I thought it was really going to soar gradually, but instead it just got a bit too shrill too quickly. When I saw it on Broadway, I was blown away by how much power Cynthia created out of silence in that song, and from singing parts so softly she might as well have been whispering. I didn't get that from Marisha, and I think some of the impact was lost in her attempt to make it so big and loud. I didn't get as emotional as I expect that song to make me.

I thought her Color Purple Reprise was wonderful though (that did make me cry!), and she had great chemistry with Rachel John even though they mustn't have had much rehearsal time at all given Rachel was still in Canada not so long ago! If she sings And I Am Telling You in Dreamgirls in the same manner as she sang I'm Here, then I'd have a few reservations about going to see her, but given this was the one weak link for me in her performance this evening, I think it'll be worth me going along to the Savoy on a night she's on anyway, as I can see how her voice suits that score.

It was clear that Rachel hadn't had as much rehearsal time as she was relying on her score and script a lot more than anyone else, but it didn't affect her performance at all, she was fabulous. I'm a bit biased as I've been a fan for a long time, but I thought her vocals were the standout performance on that stage, and her acting a perfect mix of subtlety and perfect comic timing. Can't wait to see her in Hamilton!

I thought Wendy Mae Brown was a brilliant Sofia, just as good as Danielle Brooks was on Broadway and very similar - great comic timing and I powerhouse voice. She and Tyrone Huntley were a good pairing - I thought he was great in Act 1 but faded a bit in Act 2, but as a pair they worked well together.

I thought Seyi Omooba was a wonderful Nettie, everything that character should be, and she and Marisha worked really well together. T'Shan Williams was fine as Squeak, a bit too shrill at times and some of her diction was unclear, but it's not the greatest of parts and she did well with what she had, albeit missing a bit of the comedy factor that Patrice Covington brought to the role on Broadway.

The weak link for me was Cavin Cornwall's Mister - I thought he completely overacted it to the point where it was just cringeworthy. Mister doesn't have to turn into a giggly mess at the sight of Shug to make the audience see he's in love with her, it was so over the top it was funny for all the wrong reasons. I'm afraid I also thought his diction was poor.

I also wasn't particularly impressed by the Church Ladies - I couldn't see them at all where I was sitting so couldn't judge any acting, but purely from a vocal point of view they seemed not to be completely in sync with each other and either they were over-miked or they were singing so loudly that at times they overpowered everyone else on stage when they shouldn't have done. They all have great voices, but the balance was wrong. And I've already posted my thoughts on the ensemble/choir - all good singers, but the choreography was dreadful and it just wasn't tight enough, it looked messy and amateurish. Same with the diction in places. There were also a few people who seemed intent on drawing attention to themselves by over-acting, particularly when they were at the front for Miss Celie's Pants, to the point where it got distracting and not in a good way.

I wasn't impressed with the sound balance overall - sometimes it was difficult to hear the leads because the musicians were too loud. There were a few missed mic and lighting cues, but given it's a one-off that's to be expected. I thought generally the leads coped well with balancing the mics and props and scores though, and apart from Mister they all had really good diction and had clearly put a lot of thought into how to speak the dialogue as well as sing the songs, which meant they created Celie's world very vividly despite the lack of a full set.

Overall, it's always wonderful to hear that fabulous score played and sung live, so it was lovely evening, made all the better by the standout performances from the female leads. Definitely worth a lot more than the ticket price I paid!

I don't think the Broadway production can be bettered, it was just breathtaking from Cynthia right through the entire ensemble - no weak links.  Tonight didn't reach those levels for me - I didn't particularly expect that it would, so I had a feeling I wouldn't love it as much as others probably would.  I think maybe I just expected a bit more from Marisha in I'm Here in terms of nuanced performance rather than just belting.

Strange isn't it? I came away thinking had I seen it previously I might've enjoyed it more. But then I was completely unfamiliar with the whole score which may have hindered.

Fair enough!  I don't think where I sat would have made a difference as it was Marisha's vocal choices I didn't like, not her acting.  It didn't move me because it was too loud and too big too soon.  For me it didn't build in the way Cynthia managed to build it without being at the very top end of her belting capabilities all the time - for me it seemed that Marisha went to that part of her voice pretty quickly and then when she did get to the big money notes at the end they sounded a bit forced and over-sung.  Just my point of view though, I think it's really just style preferences

I'm definitely still glad I saw the Broadway production though, hands down one of the best afternoons I've ever spent in a theatre, it really was something special.

It didn't even occur to me that that was deliberate until you mentioned it!

Presumably Nettie wearing white was symbolic too then.

Which side of the gallery - from where I was sat in the cheap side gallery seats the sound balance was woeful in Act 1!

I don't agree that this concert proves there is a market for this show in the West End though - for one, there were a fair few empty seats and quite a few others clearly filled by friends and family of the performers and organisers, and also we've quite recently had a revival that was so different and groundbreaking in terms of the history of the show that it doesn't need to be repeated anytime soon.  There are plenty of other shows crying out for a revival before we get TCP back, and I think even if we did it would likely struggle unless it was at the Menier or another smaller venue.  And I'm saying that as someone who loves the show.

Yes it was a very loud audience. I enjoy that though.

There were empty seats around me during act one. These were filled at the start of act two. Couldn't work out if this was people sitting further back who moved forward, or people  who couldn't read the start time on their tickets.

This is usually the case at classic/orchestral concerts.
Applause for the first violin, applause for conductor, applause for soloist.