The national tour of the Tony-nominated musical had been scheduled to begin performances Sept. 16 at Houston's Hobby Center. Due to heavy rains and wind damage to buildings in downtown Houston, City Mayor Bill White has issued a curfew from 9 PM to 6 AM for city residents.
TUTS has canceled The Color Purple's first performance on Sept. 16 as well as the 8 PM performances on Sept. 17 and 18. Press representatives state that ticket holders for canceled performances should call the TUTS box office at (713) 558-8887 or visit TUTS for further information and rescheduling.
Progress in Houston is being assessed on a day-to-day basis, and TUTS press representatives are hoping to resume performances of The Color Purple by the weekend; however, no official announcement has been made.
The Color Purple tour stars veterans of the Broadway production, including Jeannette Bayardelle as Celie, Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Angela Robinson as Shug Avery and Carol Dennis as the Church Soloist. Also in the company are "American Idol" finalist LaToya London as Nettie, Rufus Bonds, Jr. as Mister, Stu James as Harpo and Stephanie St. James as Squeak.
Based on the Alice Walker novel and the Steven Spielberg film, The Color Purple features a score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman ('night, Mother). Gary Griffin directed both the Broadway and touring productions. The Broadway production of The Color Purple began previews on Nov. 1, 2005, at the Broadway Theatre and officially opened Dec. 1, 2005. Nominated for 11 Tony Awards, The Color Purple concluded its Broadway run Feb. 24, 2008.
The design team for both the Broadway show and the tour is John Lee Beatty (sets), Paul Tazewell (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting) and Jon Weston (sound).
The tour is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, Quincy Jones, Creative Battery, Anna Fantaci and Cheryl Lachowicz, Independent Presenters Network, Lowy Family Group, Stephanie McClelland, Gary Winnick, Jan Kallish, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Andrew Asnes and Adam Zotovich and Todd Johnson, in special association with AEG Live.
For more information on the show, visit www.colorpurple.com.
