The Color Purple (musical)

The Color Purple
Original Broadway promotional poster
Music
Lyrics
  • Brenda Russell
  • Allee Willis
  • Stephen Bray
BookMarsha Norman
Basis
Productions2005 Broadway
2007 Chicago
2007 First U.S. tour
2010 Second U.S. tour
2012 Third U.S. tour
2013 Off West End
2015 Broadway revival
2017 Fourth U.S. tour
Awards2016 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical
2016 Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical
2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album

The Color Purple is a musical with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, based on the 1982 novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker and its 1985 film adaptation. The musical follows the journey of Celie, an African American woman in the American South from the early to mid-20th century.

The original Broadway production ran from 2005 to 2008, earning eleven Tony Award nominations in 2006. An enthusiastically acclaimed Broadway revival opened in late 2015 and ran through early 2017, winning two 2016 Tony Awards—including Best Revival of a Musical.

A film adaptation of the musical was released on December 25, 2023.