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<\/a>Special To The Blue & White Flash<\/strong><\/p>\n The passionate artistry of cast members in the Jackson State University Department of Speech and Theatre\u2019s 2012 musical extravaganza, \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d, will once again be on display from Oct. 31-Nov.4 in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium .<\/p>\n Throughout the JSU campus and the Metro Jackson community, the air is filled with expectation and excitement\u00a0 for the opening night of this masterpiece. \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.<\/p>\n This musical adaptation of Alice Walker\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.<\/p>\n With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life. Adapted for theater by playwright Marsha Norman with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d premiered at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, Ga. and opened on Broadway on Nov. 1, 2005. It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2006, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score.<\/p>\n The JSU production includes a cast of JSU students, MADDRAMA members, JSU alumni, and members of the prestigious Mississippi Mass Choir.<\/p>\n Lacey Jones, who plays Sophia in the production, stated that she has matured as a student and actress because of her work with the production.<\/p>\n \u201cIn working with \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d I\u2019ve grown into my talent and I\u2019m starting to come out of my shell, thanks to the help of Dr. Henderson and the entire production team.\u00a0 It is the best experience I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones joins a list of stellar cast performers who have worked tirelessly to make this production a success. Other featured cast members include Charence Higgins as young Celie, a freshman psychology major; Donte Wright as Harpo, a freshman vocal performance major; and Ashlei Murray as Shug Avery, a senior theatre major.<\/p>\n The audience will also be treated to the mesmerizing voices of Mississippi Mass Choir soloists, Marva McKinney, Alisa Patrick-McDonald, Jackie King, Latoya Knight Hubbard, and Barbara Harper. JSU alumni Deja Abdul-Haqq and Maurice Bailey will be leading the cast in the roles of Celie and Mister.<\/p>\n Director Mark G. Henderson, Associate Professor and Director of Theater at JSU stated that one his favorite lines from this production is when Shug Avery says, \u201cI think it pisses God off for anybody to walk pass the color purple in a field and not notice it\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Henderson encourages everybody to make sure that as you walk pass the McCoy Auditorium that you take a little time out to stop in and share \u201cThe Color Purple.\u201d<\/p>\n The production will run from Oct. 31 \u2013 Nov. 1, 2, 3, & 5th at 7:30 p.m. and includes a Nov. 4 showing at 3 p.m. and a special school performance on Friday Nov. 4 at 10 a.m.\u00a0\u00a0 On Wednesday, Oct. 31 and Friday, Nov. 2 performances are free for current JSU students.<\/p>\n For more information, call the JSU Box Office at 601-979-5956 or 601-979-4309 or visit: 10.14.12.245\/speechandtheatre and click on Box Office.<\/p>\n Contributing Student Writer: Benjamin Williams<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Special To The Blue & White Flash The passionate artistry of cast members in the Jackson State University Department of Speech and Theatre\u2019s 2012 musical…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_plus_post_options":"{}","editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}