Cast Set for New National Tour of The Color Purple | Playbill

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National Tour News Cast Set for New National Tour of The Color Purple The tour of the Tony Award-winning revival will open in New Orleans in October.
Mariah Lyttle and Sandie Lee

Casting has been announced for the new national tour of The Color Purple, which will head out on the road in a non-equity production this fall.

Based on the Tony Award-winning 2016 Broadway revival, the production will preview in Largo, Maryland, October 19–20, prior to an official opening engagement at the Mahalia Theatre in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 25–27.

The cast will be led by Mariah Lyttle as Celie, Sandie Lee as Shug Avery, Chédra Arielle as Sofia, Milika Cherée as Nettie, Andrew Malone as Mister, Brandon A. Wright as Harpo, and Milika Cherée as Nettie.

The Color Purple ensemble will include Elizabeth Adabale, Jarrett Anthony Bennett, David Holbert, Parris Lewis, Jenay Naima, Mon’Quez Deon Pippins, Gabriella Rodriguez, Shelby A. Sykes, Ivan Thompson, Renee Titus, Cartreze Tucker, Jeremy Whatley, and Gerard M. Williams.

The tour, which is scheduled to continue through May 24, will play stops in Houston, Dallas, West Palm Beach, St. Paul, St. Louis, and Detroit.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple features a book by Marsha Norman and a score by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell, and Allee Willis.

The original Broadway production premiered in 2005, playing 940 performances. A pared down chamber version debuted at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in 2013, under the direction of Tony and Olivier Award-winner John Doyle. The staging transferred to Broadway in 2015 with original London cast member Cynthia Erivo reprising her performance Celie. The Color Purple garnered the 2016 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, with Erivo taking home the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.

The tour reflects the designs from the Tony-winning revival. The Color Purple has production design by Doyle, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Gregory Clarke, and hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPoint. Musical supervision is by Darryl Archibald, with music direction by Jonathan Gorst. Casting is by Binder Casting/Chad Eric Murnane, CSA. The tour is produced by Troika Entertainment, LLC.

 
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