PEORIA -- The musical The Color Purple opened at the Peoria Civic Center on March 15 and plays there on March 16 as well. It's a terrific show, well worth seeing.
If you need to forget about Japan, Wisconsin, Libya and other cares, see this show.
Its large all-black cast is terrific, handling beautifully demanding roles that require them to sing, dance, act, and age. The sets, costumes, choreography, staging and all the other elements of a successful musical are world class.
The musical, based on the Pulitzer Prize novel by Alice Walker, has many themes, from the battle of the sexes to the initiation story of the lead character, Celie, as she learns to stand up for herself against an abusive husband.
The music is lively, and the actors have lovely voices suitable for the operatic quality of some numbers. The songs are always done with energy and accompanied by dance. Especially interesting is an original dream-type sequence on Africa.
Weaknesses: the dialogue is sometimes difficult to understand, perhaps the fault of the Civic Center's antiquated speaker system. I wished for supertitles so as not to miss a word of dialogue or the lyrics.
This is a three hour production, and could have been a bit shorter, but it was still riviting, very enjoyable, and deserving the standing ovation it received.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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