“Sexual Awakening & Performance of Excess in The Color Purple” As preached by the church ladies at The Color Purple, we better lock up all our men and young boys, too because there’s a new Shug Avery in town. Directed by John Doyle, the revival transplanted itself from a successful run at London’s The Menier Chocolate Factory to open on Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theater on Dec 10. The Broadway revival brought Cynthia Erivo to reprise her role as Celie and the Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery on her quest for EGOT. The act one showstopper “Push Da’ Button” is the show’s anthem of sexual awakening with a bold statement from Shug Avery -the sensual blues singer whose independent and assertive attitude oppose that of
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Celie was either seated on the floor, or just standing while the ensemble member were towering over her on the chair. This was also presented in the casting of Cynthia Erivo who is barely 5 feet for the role of Celie, making her the smallest female on stage. At the end of the number, Celie walked into the joint observing Shug’s performance. Although she did not join the ensemble, she stood up on the chair at the stage right, towering above all of the cast members. Celie’s staging can be seen as her empowerment through Shug’s performance and as a follow up to “Too Beautiful For Words” -Shug’s ballad on Celie’s inner beauty. The lyrics of “Push Da’ Button” not only awakens the whole town’s sexual awakening, but also Celie’s self pride and confidence to stand up against her oppression. In addition to the staging, the casting of Jennifer Hudson in the role of Shug Avery also defined a whole new energy of “Push Da’ Button.” Hudson hypersexualizes Shug Avery’s reputation as “a woman of dubious morals who dresses scantily, has some sort of ‘nasty woman disease’” compared to the original Shug, Elisabeth Withers. Although Withers channeled Shug’s coquettishness and sass, Hudson clearly owned Shug’s sensuality simply through her physical
Celie was either seated on the floor, or just standing while the ensemble member were towering over her on the chair. This was also presented in the casting of Cynthia Erivo who is barely 5 feet for the role of Celie, making her the smallest female on stage. At the end of the number, Celie walked into the joint observing Shug’s performance. Although she did not join the ensemble, she stood up on the chair at the stage right, towering above all of the cast members. Celie’s staging can be seen as her empowerment through Shug’s performance and as a follow up to “Too Beautiful For Words” -Shug’s ballad on Celie’s inner beauty. The lyrics of “Push Da’ Button” not only awakens the whole town’s sexual awakening, but also Celie’s self pride and confidence to stand up against her oppression. In addition to the staging, the casting of Jennifer Hudson in the role of Shug Avery also defined a whole new energy of “Push Da’ Button.” Hudson hypersexualizes Shug Avery’s reputation as “a woman of dubious morals who dresses scantily, has some sort of ‘nasty woman disease’” compared to the original Shug, Elisabeth Withers. Although Withers channeled Shug’s coquettishness and sass, Hudson clearly owned Shug’s sensuality simply through her physical