The church ladies of Brévo Theatre's "The Color Purple" opening at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center on Sunday, June 21. (Photo courtesy of Brévo)
By Aaron Krause, theater writer
Brévo Theatre’s upcoming South Florida premiere production of the musical version of “The Color Purple” has taken on added significance following the death of cast member Toddra Brunson, a respected local performer who was set to portray Shug Avery in the show.
She died unexpectedly on June 7.
To allow cast members to attend Brunson’s funeral, performances will now begin Sunday , June 21 instead of Saturday, June 20.
“This production will now stand as a celebration of Toddra's life, artistry, and legacy,” according to a statement released by Brévo Theatre. “We dedicate our performances to her memory and ask that you join us in honoring the joy, strength, and light she brought to our community.”
“The Color Purple” is a stage musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film.
The epic story follows Celie, a young woman who endures unimaginable hardship and embarks on a 40-year journey of resilience, self-discovery, and empowerment.
Living it up at Brévo Theatre's "The Color Purple" opening at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center on Sunday, June 21. (Photo courtesy of Brévo)
The production comes to life through a dynamic score blending jazz, ragtime, gospel, blues and African music. “This story is a celebration of survival and the healing power of community,” said director Bryan Keyth Wilson.
“We’re creating a theatrical experience that honors the heart of the material and the people who see themselves in it.”
The role of Shug Avery that was to be played by Brunson will now be performed by Ariana Hope.
The cast includes Brooklynn Miller as Celie, Michael Wallace as Mister, Ashley Portis as Sofia, John Rolle as Ol’ Mister/Ensemble, Elijah Thomas as Grady/Ensemble, Melvin Dawson III as Pastor/Buster, and ensemble performers Stara D’haiti, Jana Rutherford, Clinton Harris, Nayah Merisier, Sarah Romeo, Bobby Cheatham, Leah Williams, Cam Davis, Aundree Liacin, Ashanti Miller, and Jeffrey Slater.
Wilson said he thinks the show will resonate with audiences.
“I think audiences will connect deeply to the themes of chosen family, spiritual restoration, sisterhood, queer love, forgiveness, and self-ownership,” he said.
“South Florida is a beautifully layered community with Caribbean, Southern, Latinx, Black American, and immigrant histories all in conversation with one another. ‘The Color Purple’ speaks to people who know what it means to carry history in the body and still find a way to sing, laugh, love, cook, worship, and survive. It is a story about becoming whole in a world that tried to fracture you.”
Toddra Brunson, second from left, in GableStage's production of Brévo Theatre's "Fat Ham." (Photo courtesy of GableStage)
Wilson said the biggest challenge in staging the show has been honoring its epic scope without losing its intimacy.“
'The Color Purple’ moves through decades, geographies, family systems, trauma, migration, and spiritual awakening,” Wilson said.
“As a director, I have to make sure the audience never feels lost, but also never feels rushed. The work is about clarity, rhythm, and emotional architecture. Every transition has to carry meaning. Every location has to feel like memory, not just scenery. We are building a world where time moves like music and where Celie’s inner life remains the center of the universe.”
Speaking of music, Wilson said it serves as the show’s dramaturgy, which is the art and technique of dramatic composition and theatrical storytelling.
“Gospel gives us testimony. Blues gives us survival. Jazz gives us improvisation and sensuality. Ragtime gives us social movement and historical pulse,” Wilson said. “African musical influences remind us that this story is connected to something older than America, older than oppression, older than the wound. The staging and choreography are rooted in those musical languages. We are not simply dancing steps; we are embodying cultural memory. The body becomes archive. The ensemble becomes community, church, juke joint, field, ocean, ancestor, and witness.”
To Wilson, “The Color Purple” is not just a show – it’s a gathering.
“Food, music, conversation, and fellowship are central to Black cultural life,” he said. “Brunch & Blues at Harpo’s and Celie’s Sunday Spread allow the audience to enter the world of the play before and after the performance.
They create space for community, reflection, and celebration. In many ways, that is how our people have always survived: around tables, in kitchens, after church, at the juke joint, through song, through testimony, through a plate passed from one hand to another.”
Brunch & Blues at Harpo’s will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, while Celie’s Sunday Spread is a post-show dinner celebration scheduled after performances on Sundays, June 21 and June 28.
The character whom Brunson was set to portray and now played by Hope, Shug Avery, is a fiercely independent, glamorous, and bisexual blues singer who serves as a catalyst for the protagonist Celie’s empowerment and teaches Celie how to love herself.
Auditions for Brévo Theatre's "The Color Purple." (Photo courtesy of Brévo)
Wilson said he is approaching Celie’s journey with “great care” because he doesn’t believe she’s weak at the beginning of the story.
“She has always had power,” Wilson said. “The tragedy is that the world around her has taught her to hide it. Her journey is not about becoming someone new; it is about remembering who she was before the world interrupted her. We are tracking the small awakenings: the first time she speaks honestly, the first time she receives tenderness, the first time she laughs freely, the first time she understands desire, the first time she names God differently. Celie’s empowerment is spiritual, emotional, sexual, and ancestral.”
Wilson said the production’s intimacy and spiritual liveliness may surprise audiences.
“We are honoring the musical’s grandeur, but we are also leaning into its ritual, its queerness, its Black Southern textures, and its sense of ancestral presence,” the director said.
“This production is not interested in presenting ‘The Color Purple’ as a museum piece. We are treating it as a living testimony. It breathes. It sweats. It praises. It grieves. It laughs. It lays hands. And by the end, I hope it feels like a homegoing, a baptism, and a celebration all at once.”
While “The Color Purple” confronts social problems such as sexism, domestic violence, racism, and colorism, it’s also joyful, Wilson said.“It insists on joy. It insists on pleasure. It insists on the radical possibility of healing,” he said.
“That is what makes it powerful. Brévo Theatre’s mission is not only to tell stories about struggle, but to tell stories that move us toward freedom. This musical does that with music, humor, spirit, and extraordinary Black love.”
After seeing the show, Wilson said he hopes audiences “talk about the music, the beauty, the pain, the laughter, and the miracle of seeing Black people not only survive, but become radiant.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Brévo Theatre’s production of “The Color Purple.”
WHEN: 3 p.m., Sunday, June 21, Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28 ; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24; Thursday, June 25; Friday, June 26; Saturday, June 27; Thursday, July 2; Friday, July 3
WHERE: Pompano Beach Cultural Center, 50 W. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach
TICKETS: General admission is $55. VIP tickets are $70 and include a drink and cabaret table seating.
EXPERIENCES: Harpo’s Blue Juke Join Brunch Experience features a curated brunch menu and music rooted in gospel and blues. Seating is limited, and advance reservations are encouraged. It will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27. General admission is $130, and VIP is $150, which includes a drink abd cabaret table seating. Celie’s Sunday Spread will follow the Sunday matinee performances on June 21 and 28, which includes a post-show dinner.
INFORMATION: brevotheatre.org or Pompano Beach Cultural Center at (954) 545-9800.
