The Color Purple (musical)

The Color Purple
Original poster from The Broadway Theatre production, 2005
Music	Stephen Bray Brenda Russell Allee Willis
Lyrics	Stephen Bray Brenda Russell Allee Willis
Book	Marsha Norman
Basis	The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Productions	2005 Broadway 2007 Chicago 2007 1st US Tour 2010 2nd US Tour 2011 Vienna 2012 3rd US Tour 2013 Off-West End 2015 Broadway revival 2016 Australia
Awards	2016 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical 2016 Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical

The Color Purple is a musical with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell, and Allee Willis. Based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker, the show follows the journey of Celie, an African-American woman in the American South from the early to mid-20th century.

The original Broadway production ran from 2005 to 2008, earning eleven Tony Award nominations in 2006. An enthusiastically acclaimed Broadway revival opened in late 2015 and ran through early 2017, winning two 2016 Tony Awards—including Best Revival of a Musical.

The Color Purple was originally workshopped by the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, in the summer of 2004 following Scott Sanders' optioning the work from Alice Walker in 1999 and auditioning various creative team members. The September 9, 2004, world premiere of the musical was produced by the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta by special arrangement with Creative Battery and Scott Sanders Productions.

For the Atlanta run, La Chanze starred as Celie, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Saycon Sengbloh as Nettie, Adriane Lenox as Shug and Kingsley Leggs as Mister. Gary Griffin staged the work, with scenic design by John Lee Beatty, lighting by Brian MacDevitt, costumes by Paul Tazewell and sound by Jon Weston.