CDs: What About Love?

Set during the first half of the twentieth century, the story of a woman named Celie's triumph over adversity is well known from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker as well as from Stephen Spielberg's widely-seen 1985 film version. And now it appears that, with a little help from co-producer Oprah Winfrey, the story of The Color Purple has again found a sympathetic audience, this time, of course, in the form of a grand-scale musical.

Although it opened to mixed reviews, The Color Purple, based on both the novel and the film, appears to have caught on at the Broadway Theatre, with audiences responding strongly. And three leading actresses have had particular impact: LaChanze in the role of a lifetime as Celie; Elisabeth Withers-Mendes as Celie's soulmate, Shug; and Felicia P. Fields as the indomitable Sophia.

The somewhat overloaded book is by experienced playwright Marsha Norman, but the music and lyrics are the work of theatrical neophytes Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. Their score ranges from rhythm-and-blues to gospel, soul, jazz, and Broadway.

Angel's cast recording is comprehensive, lasting a maximum-length seventy-nine minutes. A substantial amount of dialogue has been included, offering the listener a good idea of the overall narrative. One noticed in the theatre that several musical pieces, some of them brief, weren't listed in the program as separate musical numbers. On the CD, some of these are billed with their own titles. Mister Kingsley Leggs's big solo, called "Mister's Song" in the program, has been retitled "Celie's Curse" on the recording. And for the recording, eleven additional string musicians have been added.

The Color Purple score is, at least, intriguingly different. Perhaps because they are new to the theatre, the authors don't necessarily follow conventional patterns, resulting in an unusual musical program with numerous fragments and some oddly shaped pieces. Suitably atmospheric, it's a score that gets the job done. But it rarely soars in the manner that the material demands.

Several of the standout numbers, like the Celie-Shug duet "What About Love?," feel somewhat too close to pop. Others, like Sophia's "Hell No!," disappoint. The score is most successful in a straightforward, rhythmic performance piece like Shug's "Push Da Button." The 1957 Lena Horne/Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg Broadway hit Jamaica had an even better song called "Push De Button." Like "What About Love?," The Color Purple's title song stays with one and is likely to have a life outside of the show.

While the character of Celie sings frequently, one feels the lack of a major solo for her until near the end. Her biggest Act One solo spot is billed as "Lily of the Field" on the CD, but the number wasn't even listed in the program. And when Celie's big emotional song, "I'm Here," finally arrives, it feels unfulfilled. Much the same can be said for Mister's solo. The deployment of the Greek-chorus trio of church ladies is awfully broad. And some important emotional moments for the principal characters seem to have been left unmusicalized.

One may long for a rich, full-bodied score like Ragtime's, and The Color Purple doesn't deliver it. But then the Color Purple score is, quite obviously, based more in popular styles, like r&b and blues, than in traditional theatre music. Many will find that appropriate, but to these ears the result is less rewarding. And as in pop, the lyrics don't always rhyme. But it may be the case that those who favor the particular musical styles chosen for The Color Purple will enjoy the score more than did this listener.

All of the principals, who also include Brandon Victor Dixon and Renee Elise Goldsberry, excel, and several of them could be hard to replace. And the recording is flawless, offering what appears to be the complete score along with a good sampling of the spoken text and neatly assembling a fairly sprawling work.