The musical version of The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker's popular novel of the same name, features a score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman.
The tuner, directed by Gary Griffin, had a tryout at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia last fall with cast headed by LaChanze, Felicia P. Fields, Adriane Lenox and Saycon Sengbloh. The show received mixed reviews at that time. Since that run, Donald Byrd has replaced Ken Roberson as choreographer of the tuner.
The Broadway Theatre was left vacant by the recent cancellation of The Mambo Kings, which was scheduled to begin performances there on July 20.