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