Tony-Winning Color Purple Revival to Open 2018-2019 Season of Paper Mill Playhouse

Look what God has done! Paper Mill Playhouse has announced that the 2016 Tony-winning revival of The Color Purple will open the Millburn, New Jersey theater's 2018-2019 season. John Doyle will repeat his Tony-nominated work as the musical's director for a run from September 26 through October 21. The Color Purple replaces the previously announced Andrew Lloyd Webber revue Unmasked.

"The Color Purple is a title that has been on my wish list for a number of years and we are thrilled to produce this masterpiece for our audience. John Doyle's visionary reimagining of this powerful tale will take our audiences on an unforgettable journey," said Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill's producing artistic director. "We received news last week from our producing partners in London that due to unforeseen scheduling issues, Unmasked can no longer be presented as part of our 2018-2019 Paper Mill Playhouse season. We look forward to presenting it in a future season."

Adapted from Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller and Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated film, The Color Purple features a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell and Allee Willis. The show follows the inspirational Celie as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life. The original Broadway production ran from 2005 to 2008, earning eleven Tony nominations. The acclaimed Broadway revival opened in late 2015 and ran through early 2017, winning two 2016 Tony Awards—including Best Revival of a Musical.

Casting for Paper Mill's production of The Color Purple will be announced at a later date.