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THE COLOR PURPLE announces additional casting
ISAIAH JOHNSON, JOAQUINA KALUKANGO and KYLE SCATLIFFE
Join The Company of The
Upcoming Broadway Production of
THE COLOR PURPLE
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TRIO JOINS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED STARS
JENNIFER HUDSON, CYNTHIA ERIVO, and DANIELLE BROOKS
DIRECTED AND DESIGNED BY
TONY AWARD-WINNER JOHN DOYLE
Previews begin November 10, 2015
Official opening December 10, 2015
At Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
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Additional principal casting for this fall’s highly anticipated production of THE COLOR PURPLE, directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle, has been confirmed.
ISAIAH JOHNSON (The Merchant of Venice, Peter and the Starcatcher) will play the role of ‘Mister;’ JOAQUINA KALUKANGO (Encores! Wild Party, Holler If Ya Hear Me) will appear as ‘Nettie;’ and KYLE SCATLIFFE (Les Misérables) will take on the role of ‘Harpo’ opposite the previously announced JENNIFER HUDSON, CYNTHIA ERIVO, and DANIELLE BROOKS in this acclaimed staging from London’s Menier Chocolate Factory. CYNTHIA ERIVO is appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production.
THE COLOR PURPLE will begin preview performances on Tuesday, November 10 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th street) and will officially open on Thursday, December 10.
THE COLOR PURPLE is produced by Scott Sanders Productions, Roy Furman, Oprah Winfrey, David Babani, Tom Siracusa, Caiola Productions, James Fantaci, Ted Liebowitz, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Nederlander, Darren Bagert, Candy Spelling, Adam Zotovich, Eric Falkenstein/Morris Berchard, Just For Laughs Theatricals/Tanya Link Productions, Jam Theatricals, Adam S. Gordon, Independent Presenters Network.
To view a video preview featuring Jennifer Hudson singing “Too Beautiful for Words”:
Tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE are currently on sale through Telecharge.com.
ABOUT THE CAST
ISAIAH JOHNSON (Mister) has appeared on and off Broadway, working with Al Pacino and Daniel Sullivan in The Merchant of Venice, Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes in Richard III, Kelli O'Hara and Michael Greif in Far From Heaven, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers in Peter and the Starcatcher, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kale in Hamilton (lab production), and on various projects with Norm Lewis, Bill Condon and Randy Newman. He has also been a guest star on CBS’ “Person of Interest” and the Cinemax series “The Knick.” Isaiah received a BFA from Howard University and an MFA from NYU's Tisch Grad Acting.
JOAQUINA KALUKANGO (Nettie) has appeared most recently in the Encores! Wild Party, on Broadway in Holler If Ya Hear Me and Godspell, and Off-Broadway in Our Lady of Kibeho (Signature), Antony and Cleopatra (The Public Theater and Royal Shakespeare Company), Emotional Creature (Signature and Berkeley Rep), Hurt Village (Signature, Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award nomination) and Rent (NWS). Favorite regional credits include Camae in The Mountaintop (Arena Stage and Alley Theatre, Helen Hayes Award), Sarah in Ragtime (Hangar) and Ti Moune in Once on This Island (Hangar). Joaquina is a Juilliard graduate.
KYLE SCATLIFFE (Harpo) is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. His credits include Enjolras in the recent Broadway revival of Les Miserables, Haywood Patterson in the London premiere of The Scottsboro Boys (Olivier Award Nomination), Coalhouse in Ragtime (Zach Theatre), Jud Fry in Oklahoma (5th Avenue Theatre), Marley in A Christmas Carol: The Concert (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/PBS) and Mitch Mahoney in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Alabama Shakespeare Festival).
ABOUT THE COLOR PURPLE
John Doyle’s critically acclaimed production opened in summer 2013 in London at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
Charles Spencer of The Telegraph said THE COLOR PURPLE “BLOWS THE ROOF OFF THE THEATRE,” and Libby Purvess of The Times says, “IT ROCKS THE HOUSE. NEVER WAS THERE SUCH STAMPING, CHEERING, HOOTING, ROARING AND WHISTLING.” And Mark Shenton of The Stage called the production “A REVELATION. SOMETHING TRULY EXTRAORDINARY.”
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel and the Warner Bros. / Amblin Entertainment motion picture, THE COLOR PURPLE is adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winner Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Grammy award winners Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
THE COLOR PURPLE is an unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity. With a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life.
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM
JOHN DOYLE received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards as Outstanding Director of a Musical for his Broadway debut, Sweeney Todd. His production of Company won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival and he won UK Best Musical Awards for The Gondolier’s (West End), Fiddler on the Roof and Moll Flanders with nominations for other productions including A Catered Affair (Broadway) and Mack and Mabel (West End). Recent credits include Irma la Douce for City Center, Stephen Sondheim’s Road Show (Public Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory), Passion and Allegro for CSC, and the acclaimed revival of Merrily We Roll Along at the Watermill Theatre. John has been the artistic director of four prestigious UK regional theaters and has directed numerous new and classic plays and operas. John’s most recent Broadway production was the Tony-nominated musical The Visit, starring Chita Rivera.
MARSHA NORMAN (Book) won a Pulitzer Prize for her play ‘night, Mother and a Tony Award for her book of The Secret Garden on Broadway. She also wrote the book for the recent Broadway production of The Bridges of Madison County. Ms. Norman is co-chair of the Playwriting Department at Juilliard and vice president of the Dramatists Guild of America. Her other plays include Getting Out, Traveler in the Dark, Sarah and Abraham, Trudy Blue and Last Dance. Her published work includes Four Plays, Vol. 1: Collected Plays of Marsha Norman and a novel, The Fortune Teller. She has numerous film and TV credits, Grammy and Emmy nominations and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. She is a native of Kentucky who lives in New York City and Great Barrington with her two children.
BRENDA RUSSELL (Composer/Lyricist). Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter Brenda Russell’s music has touched fans on a global scale through millions of albums sold and songs heard on airwaves around the world. Author of “Piano in the Dark,” “If Only for One Night” and the anthem “Get Here,” Brenda has written for or collaborated with superstars such as Sting, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Donna Summer, Michael McDonald, Ray Charles, Earth Wind & Fire, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, and Patti LaBelle, among many others. Nominated for three Grammys for 1988’s pop classic “Piano in the Dark,” Brenda’s compositions have also won Grammys for other artists. She has recorded eight solo albums since 1979, with her most recent, Between the Sun and the Moon, released in 2004. Brenda’s songwriting talent has been featured on television and in films such as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights. www.brendarussell.com
ALLEE WILLIS (Composer/Lyricist) has sold 50 million records, including Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” and Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” Willis won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop and was nominated for an Emmy for “I’ll Be There for You,” the theme from “Friends.” She’s also an award-winning artist, set designer, interactive-multimedia artist, writer and director. Her new live shows, including sold-out runs of Ba-de-ya, Baby! and Allee Willis' Super Ball Bounce Back Review, have drawn rave reviews in Los Angeles. Willis has also become a regular headliner at the legendary comedy review, UnCabaret. She returned to her hometown of Detroit for “Allee Willis Marches on Detroit,” an ongoing series of events and fundraisers dedicated to her beloved hometown, with an event in Detroit's historic Fox Theatre with students from her alma mater, Mumford High, as well as a second “Marching on Detroit” event in 2012 when Willis staged the “Last Call Before The Wrecking Ball” concert at Mumford, just a month before the school was demolished. She has also consulted for Intel, Microsoft, AOL and Disney and addressed the U.S. House of Representatives on cyberspace. As her alter-ego, Bubbles the artist, Willis has sold more than 1,000 artworks. She co-created and designed two animated series, “Fat Girl” and “Driving While Black,” which contain the only previous scores of Russell, Willis and Bray. www.alleewillis.com
STEPHEN BRAY (Composer/Lyricist) made his Broadway debut with The Color Purple in 2005. After beginning music studies with private instruction in Detroit, Bray continued training at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Working with Madonna, he wrote and produced many of her top-ten recordings, including “Angel,” “Into the Groove,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue” and “Express Yourself.” Performing with Breakfast Club, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and top-ten single. He has composed and produced for multiplatinum artists including The Jets, Gladys Knight and Kylie Minogue. Film and television projects include Beverly Hills Cop II, Who’s That Girl?, All About the Benjamins and the theme for PBS’s “California Connected.” Stephen develops artists for his Soultone label and looks forward to more musical theatre.
ALICE WALKER (Original Author) won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her third novel, The Color Purple, which was made into an internationally popular film by Steven Spielberg. Her other best-selling novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages, include By the Light of My Father’s Smile, Possessing the Secret of Joy and The Temple of My Familiar. Her most recent novel, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, was published in 2004. Ms. Walker is also the author of several collections of short stories, essays and poems as well as children’s books. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international journals and magazines. An activist and social visionary, Ms. Walker has been a participant in most of the major movements of planetary change, among them the Human and Civil Rights Movement in the South, the Hands Off Cuba Movement, the Women’s Movement, the Native American and Indigenous Rights Movement, the Free South Africa Movement, the Environmental and Animal Rights Movement and the Peace Movement. Her advocacy on behalf of the dispossessed has, in the words of her biographer, Evelyn C. White, “spanned the globe.”
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