Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"..."The Color Purple" has been enjoying new popularity and acclaim since it became available for production in more intimate incarnations (John Doyle's London staging recently made a splash). Stearns' version is by no means a feast of new ideas or notions of revisionist staging, although some of Brenda Didier's choreography is exceedingly fresh and accomplished. And there are moments when easier choices are made when greater depths of emotional complexity would be preferable. But this cast is exceptionally committed and musically adept - the ensemble singing, under musical director Eugene Dizon, is thrilling in this shared space and the nattering church ladies (played by Sydney Charles, Carrie Louise Abernathy and Brittany L. Bradshaw) own the entire theater. And when Stearns essentially plonks Trisha Jeffrey, the young Broadway actress playing Celie, in the middle of the stage, this emotive, honest young performer is able, it feels, to reach out over the first several rows of seats during the ballad "What About Love?""
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Intimate yet grand-scale production of "The Color Purple," the Mercury Theater has not only hit its stride as a presenter of first-rate professional musical theater in Chicago, but exceeded all expectations. Even those familiar with the 2005 Broadway original and its subsequent tours might well find themselves admitting that this edition is not only every bit as good, but in some ways even better. And of course it has what the Stephen Spielberg movie lacked - a lustrous score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray that runs the gamut from honkytonk jazz and roof-raising gospel to sultry blues, rousing swing and Broadway-style anthems."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...And yet Stearns's production proves far more winning than what I saw on the Bank of America Theatre's stage six years ago. That's partly due to scale: The musical's small, occasionally sentimental moments got swallowed up in that enormous house in a way the Mercury can keep close at hand. And it's also a credit to the Mercury's remarkable cast, led by Trisha Jeffrey, who somehow draws your eye to Celie even while her character remains a passive observer through much of her own story."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Kudos to L. Walter Stearns and company for capping off a month of some of the greatest musical theater I have seen in many a year. Between the recently closed The Last Five Years, the knock your socks off Next To Normal at Drury Lane, and now Mercury's moving The Color Purple, Chicago audiences can gorge themselves in the great talent this city has to offer."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Highly Recommended
"...Perhaps you heard the cheers, sobs and stamping feet coming from Southport street? Well, that was the sound of the opening night audience at Mercury Theater's The Color Purple, a searing and emotionally resonant production directed by L. Walter Stearns."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The Color Purple is a musical about love, hope, redemption, forgiveness and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. There was the great Porgy and Bess from the 20th Century and now there is The Color Purple for the 21st Century. The Mercury Theatre’s production, under the spirited direction from Walter Stearns, is a most worthy one that begs to be seen. Don’t miss it."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...But Stearns’s clear-eyed direction is equally competent at every level, seamlessly weaving together diverse elements in the rousing choral numbers of ‘Shug Avery Comin’ to Town’ and Act II’s triumphant ‘Africa’ while at the same time pulling back enough to capture the smaller self-realizations of ‘What About Love’ and ‘Mister’s Nightmare.’ And Brenda Didier’s choreography feels lively, spontaneous and instinctual, most notably in the salacious jazzz number, ‘Push Da Button.’"
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...THE COLOR PURPLE, The Musical About Love is the perfect shade of triumph over adversity. You'll leave the theatre knowing anything is possible. And you'll appreciate the next violet hue you see in the sky for its subtle magnificence."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...As I enter the Mercury Theater, that quaint ,intimate space just minutes from downtown, I feel the love that Artistic Director L.Walter Stearns has put into making it even better with each production. From the facade to the box office and rest rooms, to the stage area itself, Walter and his love of musical theater and the venue can be felt. This, his first full season has been one of glory and triumph for him and his staff. "Barnum" was a huge success, adored by audiences of all ages and we all know that "The Christmas Schooner" already a holiday tradition will glow and sparkle as well as warm our hearts, but I was concerned about the current production, "The Color Purple" when first announced- a difficult show indeed, for a smaller theater? In Wrigleyville? Well, Walter and his finely tuned staff have made it happen, and not just happen, but an enjoyable theatrical experience on Southport!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...L. Walter Stearns has taken this somewhat rambling script and directed an exciting, heartfelt production that takes its audience on an intimate, heroic journey. Featured is a cast of exciting actors portraying a variety of unique characters, all raising their voices in rousing song while engaging in thrilling choreography. There is little more one can expect from such a literary masterpiece that, above all, reaffirms the strength and lasting power of love."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...It's difficult not to root for "The Color Purple," especially if you are a sucker for stories about the triumph of the human spirit. Celie is a heroine that endears herself to the audience with her endurance under intolerable living conditions and her emergence as a strong, self-aware woman will cheer all but the most unsentimental viewers. As far as the defective book goes, it is what is it. But the compensations are many, starting with the vastly talented cast and extending to Brenda Didier's high flying choreography and Walter Stearns's canny directing. And Trisha Jeffrey is a stunner."
