Movie review: 'Color Purple' musical maximizes story with song

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Color Purple, in theaters Christmas Day, remains just as effective in its latest incarnation.

The newest adaption of the Alice Walker book is based on the Broadway musical version of the 1985 film.

The story follows sisters Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and Nettie (Halle Bailey), who grow up together in 1909 Georgia. Mister (Colman Domingo) wants to marry Nettie, but he settles for Celie.

Nettie comes to stay with them, but when she refuses Mister's advances, he kicks her out, separating the sisters for good. By 1917, Celie (now Fantasia Barrino) suffers abuse silently while she keeps Mister's home.

Mister's son, Harpo (Corey Hawkins) marries Sophia (Danielle Brooks), who does not stand for that kind of abuse. Singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) also comes to visit and perform. Both women give Celie bits of confidence to eventually stand up for herself.

The Steven Spielberg-directed 1985 film took 2 1/2 hours to tell Walker's story and probably still had to consolidate some of it. Director Blitz Bazawule's musical is 20 minutes shorter before credits roll, and still manages added musical numbers.

On stage, the show could probably be more than 3 hours to tell the full story with added songs. With few notable exceptions, a movie in today's market has to be more efficient, and Marcus Gardley's adaptation navigates that equation impeccably.

The plot goes by a little faster, but no less powerfully. When Mister slaps Celie for the first time, it is just as shocking as it was when Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg played the roles, and presumably when it was recreated on stage.

The songs are rousing and feature energetic choreography, even in serious, somber numbers. A chain gang dances behind Celie just as bombastically as dancers do in more celebratory numbers.

The cast has to portray the powerful drama in their dialogue scenes and in emotional songs. Most of the songs are performed by characters in the dramatic scenes, but a few exist entirely in Celie's mind.

The Color Purple has touched audiences since Walker's book was published in 1982. It has transcended film and stage, and the latest adaptation gives yet another jolt to the timeless tale of generational oppression and redemption.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.