Upper School Students Attend Stage Adaptation of "The Color Purple."

The stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, uses jazz, blues and gospel style music to help tell the story of main character Celie’s journey through adversity to eventually discover her own strength and find her voice. The story delves into socioeconomics, race and gender in the early to mid-20th century, along with relationships, family connection and spirituality.

The following day, students had the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the story and performance. Students discussed the journeys of several main characters throughout the story, and the way they were portrayed on stage. They described the way lighting, scenery, music and expressive acting supported the story, and how they felt like participants rather than observers when watching the performance vs. reading the book.