By Janice Malone
NASHVILLE, TN — The wait is finally over. The highly anticipated premiere of The Color Purple will take place April 5 – 14, 2024 at The Nashville Repertory Theatre. Adapted from Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the renowned 1985 film, “The Color Purple” showcases a memorable soundtrack blending gospel, blues, and jazz. This touching narrative serves as a testament to resilience, highlighting the enduring spirit of humanity and the beauty found in life. And now Nashville audiences will be entertained by the upcoming shows adapted for The Rep. The beauty of the various music genres, combined with the powerful storytelling that’s made The Color Purple a classic, will all be presented live on stage at the Nashville Repertory Theatre.
Reggie Law is the director of the show. This production will be Reggie’s directorial debut at the Nashville Rep. But Mr. Law more than knows his way around the world of theater. He’s currently the Managing Artistic Director of the Oakridge Playhouse in Knoxville, TN for 10+ years. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., at TPAC’s Polk Theater (505 Deaderick St., Nashville. Tickets, schedules and more visit https://nashvillerep.org/
Rehearsals started March 5th with pre-production began several months ago. “We’ve been working a lot remotely across zoom and phone calls, often exchanging ideas, pictures and things, so that we would be ready by the time rehearsals began,” shares director Reggie. The acclaimed director shares even more behind-the-scenes details about the production with the Tribune.
TRIBUNE: We now have The Rep’s version of the classic The Color Purple. What are some differences and similarities between this one and the original stage show?
R. LAW: This script is based on the Broadway revival show, which was on Broadway. That story itself is big and sweeping for a 40-year period. That revival production focused on paring down and distilling to the very core of the story. What we are doing in this production is what I call a ‘spare approach’ which means the focus is on the people, and humanity but not so much this big, lavish production. This is not to say that the production stuff is not very elegant and thoughtful, but it’s really been distilled down to only what really matters. So, like, for the scenery, rather than trying to create realistic spaces, what has been created is this environment is a representation of, you know, being in church or rural Georgia. You see in the environment and the textures, the feel of that tiny place without being literal.
TRIBUNE: Tell us about the show’s music.
R. LAW: The production’s music covers gospel and jazz, blues, all these musical forms that are kind of the foundation of African American music. It still has a little bit of a Broadway feel about it, too. There’s kind of something for everybody. Again, it just captures the essence of who these characters are, but at the same time, there’s a magnitude of theatricality about it too.
TRIBUNE: As the director, who is your favorite character in The Color Purple?
R. LAW: It’s definitely “Celie.” It’s her journey that we go on. She goes through so many struggles, setbacks, and on to triumph. I think her story kind of makes her my overall favorite character.