WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST
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Proverbs 3:5.
ALICE WALKER (Original Author) won the
Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award
for her third novel, The Color Purple, which
was made into an internationally popular film
by Steven Spielberg. Her other best-selling
novels, which have been translated into more
than two dozen languages, include By the Light
of My Father’s Smile, Possessing the Secret of
Joy and The Temple of My Familiar. Her most
recent novel, Now Is the Time to Open Your
Heart, was published in 2004. Walker is also
the author of several collections of short stories,
essays and poems as well as children’s books.
Her work has appeared in numerous national
and international journals and magazines. An
activist and social visionary, Walker’s advocacy
on behalf of the dispossessed has, in the words
of her biographer, Evelyn C. White, “spanned
the globe.”
MARSHA NORMAN (Book) won a Pulitzer
for her play ’night, Mother, a Tony® for The
Secret Garden on Broadway and a Tony
nomination for her book for The Color Purple.
Norman is co-chair of Playwriting at Juilliard
and serves on the Steering Committee of the
Dramatists Guild. She has numerous film
and TV credits, as well as a Peabody for her
work in TV. She has won numerous awards
including the Inge Lifetime Achievement in
Playwriting. She is also President of the Lilly
Awards Foundation, a non-profit honoring
women in theatre and working for gender parity
nationwide.
BRENDA RUSSELL (Composer/Lyricist).
Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter and author of
“Piano in the Dark,” “If Only for One Night”
and “Get Here.” Russell has collaborated with
superstars such as Sting; Mary J. Blige; Stevie
Wonder; Chaka Khan; Tina Turner; Donna
Summer; Michael McDonald; Ray Charles;
Earth, Wind & Fire; Luther Vandross; Diana
Ross; and Patti LaBelle, among many others.
She was nominated for three Grammys® for
1988’s “Piano in the Dark.” Since 1979, she
has recorded eight solo albums, releasing
“Between the Sun and the Moon” in 2004. Her
work has also been featured in “How Stella
Got Her Groove Back” and “Liberty Heights.”
brendarussell.com
ALLEE WILLIS (Composer/Lyricist) has
sold more than 50 million records, including
“September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Neutron
Dance” and “What Have I Done to Deserve
This?” She has a Grammy® for the Beverly Hills
Cop soundtrack and an Emmy® nomination
for the Friends theme song. She’s an awardwinning
artist, performer, multimediaist, writer
and director. Willis prototyped a social network
in 1992 and addressed Congress on cyberspace
in 1997. Willis’s opus to Detroit, “The D”,
premiered at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the
fifth largest museum in the world, on September
28, 2017. The song and video, written, arranged,
produced, directed, edited, animated and selffinanced
by Willis, features 5000 lead singers
and musicians, more people in history than have
ever been on a record before.
STEPHEN BRAY (Composer/Lyricist) made
his Broadway debut with The Color Purple
in 2005. After training at Berklee College of
Music, Bray wrote and produced many top-ten
recordings for Madonna including “Into the
Groove,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue” and
“Express Yourself.” Performing with Breakfast
Club, he earned a Grammy® nomination for
Best New Artist. He has written and produced
for multiplatinum artists including Gladys
Knight and Kylie Minogue. Stephen’s latest
venture, Masterphonic, provides storytellers
with original music and reimagined classics. He
would like to thank Mom and Dad for blasting
Broadway cast albums and insisting on those
piano lessons.
JOHN DOYLE (Direction/Set Design/Musical
Staging). Broadway: Sweeney Todd (Tony®
and Drama Desk Awards for Best Director of
a Musical), Company (Tony Award for Best
Musical Revival), A Catered Affair (Drama
League Award for Best Musical Production),
The Visit (Tony nomination for Best Musical),
The Color Purple (Tony Award for Best
Musical Revival, Drama Desk Award for Best
Director of a Musical). Off-Broadway: Wings
(Second Stage Theatre), Road Show (The
Public Theater), Where’s Charley?, Irma La
Douce (City Center Encores!). Regional: Kiss
Me, Kate (Stratford Festival); The Caucasian
Chalk Circle (A.C.T.); Merrily We Roll Along;
The Three Sisters (Cincinnati Playhouse in
the Park); Ten Cents a Dance (Williamstown
Theatre Festival); The Exorcist (L.A.). In the
U.K., John has been artistic director of four
regional theatres. Numerous credits include
The Gondoliers, Mack and Mabel (West
End), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s
Park), Oklahoma! (Chichester), Amadeus
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