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The Color Purple: The Color of Success
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THE COLOR PURPLE: THE COLOR OF SUCCESS
“THE COLOR PURPLE: THE COLOR OF SUCCESS,”
New York, NY (January 28, 2007) - TV One celebrates Black History Month with the world premiere of The Color Purple: The Color of Success, Sunday, February 18th at 8pm eastern. This primetime news special, directed by Emmy Award-winning producer Tim Miller and narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Keith David, chronicles Alice's Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning story's path to Broadway.
The Color Purple: The Color of Success begins with the publishing of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, and then traces the story's remarkable 25-year evolution from the best selling novel to the Academy Award-nominated film by director Steven Spielberg and producer Quincy Jones, and climaxing with Oprah Winfrey championing it to one of the grandest openings in Broadway history. How did it get there? What did it take to turn this critically acclaimed and controversial narrative into a soul stirring musical? And what does its success mean to the culture, heritage, and spirit of African Americans everywhere? All these questions and more are answered in this revealing, one-hour, behind-the-scenes story of the making of the Broadway musical.
The producers of The Color Purple: The Color of Success gained unprecedented access to the Broadway musical, going far beyond the Broadway Theatre's curtain to unearth rare footage of the show's original casting sessions, early show rehearsals, and the EMI cast album recording. And through extensive interviews and intimate studio sessions, the show also traces the creative production of the show, from the creation of the original score, through the design of its choreography, sets and costumes.
All-new interviews with the show's creators are featured, including lead producer Scott Sanders and director Gary Griffin; Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Marsha Norman and musical director Linda Twine; pop music composers Allee Willis, Brenda Russell and Stephen Bray; choreographer Donald Byrd and costume designer Paul Tazewell. Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones and Alice Walker join a chorus of other participants recounting The Color Purple's extraordinary history. And in one highly memorable moment, Oprah surprises the cast at a rehearsal as she is introduced as one of the show's newest producers.
The musical's award-winning cast is also on hand to describe how and why they became involved with the show and what it means to be part of such a profound cultural event. Featured cast members include Tony Award-winning LaChanze, who portrays Celie; Elisabeth Withers-Mendes who plays Shug Avery and Felicia Fields who plays Sofia, both making their Broadway debut; and Kingsley Leggs who plays Mister and Brandon Victor Dixon making his Broadway debut playing Harpo.
“The history of how Alice Walker's classic has evolved, and the impact it's had not only on Broadway, but on the African American community as a whole, is a unique and fascinating story, one that we felt should be told,” said producer/director Miller. “We wanted the special to capture the importance of this singular achievement, while paying tribute to the many talented individuals behind the scenes who contributed to making The Color Purple one of the greatest literary sagas of our time, for all time.”
Historically, less than 4% of New York's theatergoers have been African American. But since its Broadway Theatre debut, The Color Purple has broken house records and is currently one of the top five grossing plays on Broadway today, with over 50% of its audience comprised of African Americans.
Directed by Gary Griffin, The Color Purple was adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award nominees Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, and choreography by Donald Byrd. Nominated for eleven Tony Awards in 2006, actress LaChanze went on to win the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. The soundtrack for The Color Purple has since been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The 49th Annual Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 11, 2007. The Color Purple musical begins its national tour this April in Chicago (www.colorpurple.com).
Launched in January 2004, TV One, LLC (www.tvoneonline.com) is America's first lifestyle and entertainment network for African American adults and is now seen nationwide in over 33.8 million homes. TV One offers a broad range of entertainment-oriented original programming, classic series, movies, fashion and music that focus on African American themes, issues culture and politics. TV One's investors include Radio One (NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK), the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA and CMCSK), the leading cable television company in the country; Constellation Ventures; Syndicated Communications; Pacesetter Capital Group; and Opportunity Capital Partners.
The Color Purple: The Color of Success was executive produced by Big Chief principals Tim Miller and Steven Jon Whritner, with Miller also serving as the special's producer and director. Director of Photography was Brian O'Carroll. Emmy award-winning actor Keith David (“Crash,” “Barber Shop”) provided the narration.
Big Chief Entertainment (www.bigchiefent.com) is an Emmy Award-winning production and development company that actively develops and produces original and commissioned network specials, series television, and motion pictures.
In addition to The Color Purple: The Color of Success, past projects for Big Chief include the popular TV One dating game show Get the HookUp, hosted by nationally syndicated Radio One personalities Russ Parr and Alfredas, and the Discovery reality series Repo Men: Stealing for a Living, hosted by Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”).
Big Chief Entertainment is located at 1619 Broadway, 9th floor, New York, NY 10019. For more information about Big Chief and The Color Purple: The Color of Success, contact Tim Miller at tmiller@bigchiefent.com.
PRIMETIME TELEVISION EVENT,
PREMIERES SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18th ON TV ONE