Behind the scenes of ‘The Color Purple’

Behind the scenes with the Claflin University Theatre Ensemble: Dr. Charlie Toomer leads a music rehearsal fpr "The Color Purple." (Instagram)

Claflin University’s Theatre Ensemble, also known as C.U.T.E productions, is planning a revival of “The Color Purple.”

The production is a musical adaptation of a film and book by the same name, and the company previously performed it in 2017. Theater Director Annette Grevious described the coming-of-age classic as inspiring.

“It's a story of hope, love, despair, but yet, overcoming various obstacles that Celie faces,” Grievous said. “I think that's something that any college student, especially, can take from that.”

Grevious said the storyline and strong ballads like “I’m here” help symbolize character growth. The central themes of the play may comfort a college audience.

“They're stepping out on their own, probably for the first time,” Grevious said. “And so they may face many challenges throughout their college career, but at the end of it all, when they graduate, it's like they have that I'm-here moment in terms of you did it, you accomplished it.”

Compared to the 2017 production, Grevious hopes to scale down the set design, allowing more focus for the storyline. With the play’s heavier themes, the actors are putting in more work to understand their characters.

“The actress that is playing Celie, of course, has a huge undertaking in terms of the journey that she experiences from beginning to end,” Grevious said. “Now we're at the point of where we're kind of digging down deep into little intricate details of scenes, and pulling out that the characters objectives, and really being able to convey those characters truthfully and believably.”

Grevious said that the biggest challenge is the size of the production. Claflin does not offer a theater major, meaning the cast juggles daily classwork with rehearsal times.

“So it's a large production,” Grievous said. “I'm not a fan of really large productions, especially not having a theater major where you have actors who can just focus on creating productions, creating shows.”

Performance dates are April 11-13.