"Capable of both exquisite nuance and shattering power...Director John Doyle has reduced the size of the cast by about a third, and cut some 20 minutes of dialogue. The stripped-down result somehow makes this entertainment feel closer to a spiritual experience, which is what Alice Walker intended."
Read more

"A stunning, exhilarating and altogether joyful theatrical experience. Chalk it up to conceptual point-of-view, along with a handful of supremely satisfying performances…Doyle's process of stripping material down to its essentials and foregoing scenery doesn't work for every musical...It sure works here, though, revealing a beating, pulsing heart within the show...Midway through the 2015-16 season, 'The Color Purple' is already a highlight...You're likely to end up cheering."
Read more

"Mix Erivo and Headley together and you have two riveting star performances; when they are on opposite sides of the stage, you can barely figure out which way to look. The show itself remains a rouser...'The Color Purple' looks lustrous indeed. Add Ms. Headley to the mix and the overall enjoyment increases a couple of notches—without in the least detracting from Ms. Erivo’s lustrous star turn."
Read more

"Director John Doyle, who’s won acclaim for pared-down stagings of big musicals, here whittles it down to its essentials and tells Walker’s decades-spanning story with the help of just a few sheets, baskets, and a dozen or so wooden chairs. The result is captivating, intimate, and wholly affecting."
Read more

"The revival of 'The Color Purple' might be the ideal musical to second-act. You’ll miss some bald exposition and confusing staging, some showboating performers...But you’ll witness an emotional progression and wrap-up that’s extremely satisfying despite the hard-to-swallow turns of plot and character, and you’ll hear the better half of the score. Most of all, you’ll see a star being born."
Read more

"I'm usually no fan of director John Doyle's work...But Doyle's revival of 'The Color Purple' knocked me out. And that's almost entirely because he had the good sense to cast Cynthia Erivo as the show's star…Doyle has stripped the show down to its elements and this is a much simpler production than the original…This streamlining places all the weight on the music and the performances…Erivo as Celie is truly sensational."
Read more

"The show still teeters between uplifting and tear-jerking, and is often rescued by its musical numbers...Ultimately, director Doyle properly emphasizes the characters' expressions of themselves through the show's songs, an eclectic mix of gospel, blues and pop numbers. It's in its musical moments that 'The Color Purple' is most alive."
Read more

"The limited staging puts the focus on the score…The intimate relationship between Celie and Shug is handled here both tenderly and directly…Broadway’s latest incarnation focuses almost entirely on song, but it’s still the same joyous and uplifting journey."
Read more