Twenty years since its original Broadway musical debut, The Color Purple bursts into vibrant new life in director Lili-Anne Brown’s revelatory production, set to take the stage of the Goodman’s Albert Theatre this summer. Brown’s 21-member company is led by prolific Chicago talent—including Brittney Mack (Broadway’s SIX The Musical) as Celie; Aeriel Williams (The Color Purple National Tour) as Shug Avery; Evan Tyrone Martin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at Writers Theater) as Mister; Nicole Michelle Haskins (Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3 at The Goodman) as Sofia, Gilbert Domally (Choir Boy at Steppenwolf) as Harpo; Shantel Renee Cribbs (Dreamgirls at Paramount) as Nettie; Daryn Whitney Harrell (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at The Goodman) as Squeak; and more, a full cast list appears below—in this story of a young woman’s perilous journey of personal awakening in the American South. Music Director Jermaine Hill and Choreographer Breon Arzell evoke the music and movement of the early 1900s with unforgettable “come-to-glory gospel hymns, down-and-dirty bump-and-grinds, jazz that stutters, dips and dives, and gorgeous alto arias” (Chicago Sun-Times).
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker with a book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The Color Purple appears June 21 – July 27 (opening night is June 30 at 7pm) in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. Tickets ($25 - $130; subject to change) go on sale March 28, available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Purple or by phone at 312.443.3800. The Goodman is grateful for the support of The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (Lead Sponsor of IDEAA Programming; Shure Incorporated (Technical Sponsor) and Athletico Physical Therapy (Physical Therapy Provider).
“Alice Walker’s brilliant and beloved novel is an essential work of art that has, for decades, endured beyond the page, in films and on stage,” said Goodman Theatre Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, who produced the original Broadway-bound world-premiere musical while artistic director of Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. “Lili-Anne Brown’s glorious rendering of the musical remains one of the most memorable, highly acclaimed productions of recent years. It’s our joy and privilege to invite her to revisit her creation this summer at The Goodman.”
Widespread critical and popular acclaim for Ms. Brown’s previous productions of The Color Purple—at Drury Lane Theatre (2019) and The Muny (2022)—included praise as “perfection on every level, from powerhouse cast to glorious song” (Chicago Sun-Times) with “staging (that) brings down the house” (Chicago Reader) and having “something (no) other production had to quite the same extent: an empowered ensemble, working as one” (Chicago Tribune).
"This show is an absolute celebration of women, how we as women protect and empower one another and ourselves,” said director Lili-Anne Brown. “It's about a woman's relationship with her sister, her community, her children, her lover, herself and, ultimately, the Divine. The right time for this piece is always ‘right now.’ I’m thrilled to return to it at the Goodman, in the heart of downtown Chicago, for our revival this summer with this truly fabulous cast of top-tier talent."
A Chicago South Side native, Ms. Brown works as a director, actor and educator, and has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows in Chicago and nationally. Recent directing credits include: The Nacirema Society…, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play and the world premieres of Ike Holter’s I Hate It Here and Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre); Two Trains Running (The Acting Company, Nat’l Tour), Dreamgirls (McCarter Theater and Goodspeed Musicals), FELA! (Olney Theater), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Huntington Theatre), Ain’t No Mo’ (Woolly Mammoth and Baltimore CenterStage), Waitress, Rent and The Color Purple (The Muny), Once on This Island (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Acoustic Rooster...(Kennedy Center and Nat’l Tour), Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse). She is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she focused programming on Chicago-premiere musicals and new play development with resident playwrights. She has received 2 Helen Hayes Awards, 5 Jeff Awards, 2 BTA awards and one African American Arts Alliance Award for excellence in directing. She is an inaugural recipient of the Walder Foundation’s Platform Award and a 2021 recipient of the 3Arts Award for Theatre. She is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and a graduate of Northwestern University.
Jermaine Hill, he/him (Music Director) is an award-winning music director, arranger and vocal coach who previously worked with the Goodman as music director, pianist and conductor for The Music Man. Regional: RENT (The Muny), Choir Boy (Steppenwolf),The Colored Museum (Umbrella Arts), Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies (Porchlight Music Theatre),The Color Purple (The Muny, Drury Lane), Nell Gwynn (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) and Ragtime (Griffin Theatre). He is the Dean of the School of Drama at The New School.
Breon Arzell, he/him (Choreographer) with a fusion of hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, lyrical and body percussion, Arzell has choreographed internationally with universities, studiosand theaters, including the Goodman's Musical Theatre Intensive Summer Program. Chicago credits include: Dance Like Black People are Watching (Second City); Milo Imagines the World (CCT/CTC); Kill Move Paradise (TimeLine); American Psycho, Head Over Heels, The Wiz (Kokandy), The Total Bent (Haven); Marie Christine, The Hairy Ape and more. Regional: Little Shop of Horrors (Indiana Rep); Rent, The Color Purple (MUNY);Dreamgirls (Goodspeed/McCarter) and more. BreonArzell.com
Full Company of The Color Purple The Musical (in alphabetical order)
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown
Based on the Novel by Alice Walker and the Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture
Book by Marsha Norman
Music and Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray
Marta Bady…Swing
Jos N. Banks…Grady
Curtis Bannister…Buster
Sean Blake…Ol Mister
Shantel Renee Cribbs…Nettie
Gilbert Domally…Harpo
Lachrisa Grandberry…Doris
Sharriese Hamilton…Darlene
Daryn Whitney Harrell…Squeak
Nicole Michelle Haskins…Sofia
Ariya Hawkins…Olivia
Reneisha Jenkins…Jarene
Eric Lewis…Bobby
Brittney Mack…Celie
Evan Tyrone Martin…Mister
Michael Earvin Martin…Pa
Juwon Tyrel Perry…Preacher
Aalon Daeja Smith…Ensemble
Richaun Shamar Stewart…Swing
Shelbi Voss..Swing
Aeriel Williams…Shug Avery
Creative Team
Music Director…Jermaine Hill
Choreographer…Breon Arzell
Associate Choreographer…Darian Tene
Set Designer…Arnel Sancianco
Costume Designer…Samantha C. Jones
Lighting Designer…Heather Gilbert
Co-Sound Designers…Stephanie Farina and Sarah Ramos
Co-Projection Designers...Mike Commendatore and Rasean Davonté Johnson
Intimacy and Violence...Gregory Geffrard
Assistant Intimacy and Violence…Isabella Grace Scarlett
Assistant Director…Tor Campbell
Line Producer…Malkia Stampley
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager. Beth Koehler and Imani Ross are the Stage Managers.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit Goodman theatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman’s accessibility efforts.
ASL-Interpreted: July 18 at 7:30pm – A professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Touch Tour* and Audio-Described: July 12, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm – Action is audibly enhanced via headset.
Spanish-Subtitled: July 12 at 7:30pm – LED sign presents Spanish-translated dialogue in sync with the performance.
Open-Captioned Performance: July 13 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades.
The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten and remains home to many Native peoples today. The Goodman is proud to have a relationship with Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum. Located in Evanston, the Museum honors the survival and perseverance of Indigenous communities and promotes a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples: gichigamiin-museum.org.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.