I absolutely loved the book and with good reason: it was well written in the Southern dialect, it was compelling and interesting, the plot was believable, and it delivered emotion and powerful knowledge on the African experience. The musical was also well executed, however, I feel it fell short of Walker's racially complicated themes and questions. In the novel form one was meant to feel the struggle blacks felt not only in the Southern states of America, but also the disconnect between themselves and their former relatives: those living in Africa who sold them into slavery. This wasn't even touched upon in the musical. I understand that in a 2 hour time slot it may be hard to force people to remove stereotypes and misconceptions about "the black woman" and furthermore to create a complicated relationship not only between white and black southerners but also between African-Americans and native Africans, but it could have been done. Frankly I am disappointed.
What also struck me as odd was the fact that Oprah Winfrey was so in love with the book (they say she handed out free copies to strangers) that she decided to help produce this musical, and also starred in the movie as Sofia. Okay, I may lose a few of you here because I'm not such a huge Oprah fan, but I believe that her role as the influential black woman that she is should be used to help her race in regards to equality. Instead, she chose the role of the "boisterous large black woman" to play in the movie. This seems to further the stereotype (as was also shown in the musical when the actress playing Sofia stole the show). Why would Oprah want people to continuously have this image of black women across America? Why wouldn't she want to convey more of Nettie's hardship in Africa to show the struggle that African-Americans have: they aren't accepted in America because they're black, yet they aren't accepted in Africa because they had been sold, they aren't black enough, they don't understand the customs, and they are Americanized. It reminds me of the feelings associated with "passing" : a black woman may pass as white however she doesn't feel connected to either race and therefore has no place, no culture, no people of her own.
Ironically, back when this was set the role of Sofia as a woman who refuses to be beaten by her husband, who stands up to the mayor, and who doesn't lie to a white woman simply to make her happy, was probably a rebellious role. She was the woman who the white people didn't like because she didn't go along with their view of how a black woman should act. Yet, when I was sitting there in the audience watching Sofia sing "hell no" to letting anyone beat her, listening to the audience cheer and roar in agreement, I realized that the tide had turned. Now Sofia clearly is the stereotypical black woman and it seems as if white people love her more for that. Is it because they can respect someone who stands up for herself? Is it because she says it like it is and doesn't give false sympathy? Or is it because when she acts loud and troublesome she doesn't remind the white majority of the weak slave bowing before the master, thus giving them a guilty conscious?
I admit that I didn't think of all of this during the show (after all, I LOVE musicals and enjoyed myself). But I was disheartened when key elements of Walker's narrative weren't even slightly mentioned onstage. And I was frustrated when women that barely paid attention during the second act (because they were chatting with each other and disturbing my experience) cheered the loudest for the actresses as if they could subconsciously feel their struggle and understand their pain without even listening, simply because of the color of their skin. I, on the other hand, couldn't relate to the characters without Celie's voice in my head. It was her broken spelling that lent itself to my imagination. It was her description and numbness towards Mr ___ that pulled at my heartstrings. It was her obsessive wondering about Shug Avery that fed my understanding of her character. None of that was strongly displayed in the musical, therefore I felt as if I was watching something entirely new and unconnected to Alice Walker's work.
When everyone burst out clapping in the final moments of the musical I couldn't help but feel cheated. We didn't have the same uncertainty as we had in the novel. We hadn't learned anything about Adam and Olivia. We didn't even experience the lengthiness of the time elapsed since Celie barely appeared to age (I suppose since she was the same height from age 14 to 50).
Don't let my questions and disappointment about this musical trick you into thinking I didn't enjoy it. It had wonderful music (loud, strong gospel voices which make you want to rise to your feet and let your lungs carry you onto the stage with them) and the set designs were equally beautiful and powerful. Also, it's a musical that has won so many awards it's worth it just to go and see the talent. Experience a Broadway phenomenon!
Just make sure you read the book too.
P.S. None of these comments were meant to offend, just simply the ramblings of the author.
P.P.S. Here's another review of The Color Purple: http://artvoice.com/issues/v8n23/theaterweek
Does that have anything to do with Purple Rain?
ReplyDeleteYeah, it seems like whenever a work of art is transformed from one media to another, it loses a little bit of the style or substance that made it so great before. You especially notice it when it switches to some sort of shorter format, from a novel to, say, a musical, like in your case. Glad you enjoyed it, though.
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