Revival of “The Color Purple” coming to Pittsburgh
Submitted photo
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-2018 season.
Submitted photo
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14-19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-18 season.
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-2018 season.
Submitted photo
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-2018 season.
Submitted photo
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-2018 season.
Submitted photo
“The Color Purple” runs Nov. 14 through Nov. 19 at the Benedum Center with PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh as part of their 2017-2018 season.
Over a decade after the musical version of “The Color Purple” opened on Broadway, a revival of the classic novel, film and production is coming to Pittsburgh on its national tour.
“We’re traveling to several different cities,” said N’Jameh Camara, the actress performing on stage as Nettie.
Nettie, the younger sister of Celie, is one of the principle characters, along with other staples like Sofia, Mister, Alphonso and Shug.
Camara said she brings a set of “fresh, hew eyes” to the production, as she’s the only principle character who wasn’t a swinger or understudy for the main characters on Broadway.
This particular tour, which opened in Iowa before making it to Michigan while on its way to Pittsburgh, is a minimalist production, according to Camara.
“The director really is pushing the audience’s imagination as well as our imagination with minimal props. There’s really no set on stage, no couches, no back porch — nothing to make you feel like you’re in Georgia, except for wooden planks on the floor and chairs on the walls to represent different story tellers, whether they were on verandas or porches, in the south,” Camara said, adding that there are also minimal costume changes. “They’re really open for interpretation, as art often is.”
And for Nettie’s character, who finds herself on a missionary trip in Africa, Camara said she uses her imagination and the architecture of the theater itself to create the scene.
“Without a ton of set and changes and the glitz and glamor of Broadway — without all that — the lyrics and actual text, I believe, is heightened,” Camara said. “The audience really has to pay attention.”
The book, “The Color Purple,” was written in 1982 by Alice Walker. It went on the win the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It takes place primarily in the southern United States and examines the social culture of 1930s America in the eyes of Celie, and the men and women in her life, over four decades.
In the national tour of its revival, Camara said she hopes the audience comes to the performance to see the transformation of Celie.
“That’s the highlight of the show, without giving anything away. It’s how she goes on her journey with the help of the women around her, pushing her, and being a catalyst for her evolution as a person,” she said.
She added that she hopes the audience is also inspired and motivated by everyone’s journey.
“I hope they’re motivated to do something they’ve always wanted to do, but were maybe too scared to,” Camara said. “Look at yourself in this world — what are you contributing? What are you taking away? What are you giving back to the world?”
Camara added that she hopes the audience takes away that Nettie’s story isn’t just in the 1930s — it’s also right now.
“She’s in hot pursuit of knowledge from a young age, but doesn’t know how to go about getting it,” Camara said. “She’s constantly looking for an opportunity to get out and be more, and she ultimately goes to Africa.”
“It reminds me of the journey of immigrants — yearning for knowledge and for more, being willing to go to another country to get it,” Camara added.
The show opens at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 14. There are also performances at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 and 16, 8 p.m. Nov. 17, 2 and 8 p.m. Nov. 18, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19, all at the Benedum Theater. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 412-456-6666.