“Dear God”: ‘The Color Purple’ Cast’s Intimate Reflection On The Musical Remake
Without acknowledging The Color Purple’s religious rudiment, the story is nothing more than one of trauma turned triumph. In the midst of many critics analyzing concepts of sisterhood, found family, generational curses—especially as it relates to Black men— we also noticed themes of divine intervention, full circle moments, and answered prayers in the form of two spectrums: “Dear God” and “look what God has done.”
In the preface of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, author Alice Walker wrote, “I would have thought that a book that begins ‘Dear God’ would immediately have been identified as a book about the desire to encounter, to hear from the Ultimate Ancestor.” She realized that instead readers would mold God into something more tangible within nature like the stars, the wind, and purple flowers while its protagonist, Celie, “who starts out in life already a spiritual captive breaks free.” With the help of others and through her own bravery, she comes to terms that she is a radiant depiction of God’s heart in human form. At its core, that is the essence of The Color Purple—the novel, the film, the musical, and the new reimagined merger of the latter two.
When sitting with the film’s director Blitz Bazawule and the illustrious lead cast: Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, a cathartic emotional release stirred up. Each of them unlocked a distinct part in the grander feeling of what speaking to God in public may look like and how those conversations helped them breathe new life into their onscreen characters whilst discovering something new about themselves. So, we asked everyone what their “Dear God” letter would read.
For Phylicia, she hopes this film will “resonate” in the ways it’s supposed to. “Please allow it to move the culture again the way it’s supposed to, and please allow it to create a space for Black women to be soft, for Black women to be seen, and for Black women to be held as the heroes that they are,” she explained during our abrupt chat.
Corey and Colman took an alternate approach to answering. The men shared what their characters’—Harpo and Mister respectively— “Dear God” letters would be.
Colman reflected on the turning point for Mister when he’s laying in the mud, face-down, during the aftermath of Celie’s curse. “I actually do say, ‘Dear God’ for the first time because I think [Mister’s] somebody who’s been living without faith, and in this moment, he was like, ‘Dear God, I’ll do better.’ It’s very faint, but [it’s there.]”
On the other hand, Corey felt his “Dear God” moment was one of clarity after he hit Sophia for the first—and last—time. “He asks, ‘God, what have I done? How is this going to shape my life and why?’ It’s really simple, I think, for Harpo because I think he’s been living his dreams and loving his life with Sophia. Then that moment happened, and it shifted his world. That brings him to prayer, to his knees. You don’t see it on film, but I think you feel it.”
Many of the emotions riled up throughout the rapid-fire conversations are ones that are felt, not seen. This is similar to many of the moments that came together in a cosmic way to pull off a film of this stature. After the 1985 film adaptation, Oprah was skeptical about turning The Color Purple into a musical, but trusted Scott Sanders’ vision, the same way she did with Blitz.
To fully formulate his reimagining of the film, Blitz reread Walker’s novel. Similar to Phylicia’s sentiment, his “Dear God” letter begins with a request that “this work reaches as many people as possible, people who are ready to open their hearts and go through their own healing journeys.”
However, this marker in his professional career, coming after highs like Beyoncé’s Black Is King, is also what he says is a “living testament” for others. The Ghanaian visionary feels like that is also his stamp of “look what God has done.” Blitz noted, “All we ever need, all we ever want is to belong. And coming to Hollywood and finding this family, I mean that’s it. Because the story can be very different based on who you interface with. So yes, I will say that is absolutely my ‘Look what God has done’ moment.”
Earlier we mentioned that a “cathartic emotional release” was brewing throughout the course of the conversations. Goosebumps arose through their chilling reflections and we may never know whether saving Fantasia, Taraji, and Danielle for last was intentional or a divine power play, that deeply-rooted exhale was the perfect closer to this unofficial roundtable.
The conversation began with us Black women complimenting each other before production reeled us back in. “You all have said collectively and individually that this film was like divine alignment for you. So, what would be your ‘Dear God’ letter now that everything is done?,” I asked.
Fantasia immediately stated, “Oh, now that’s going to make me cry.” Overlapping, Taraji succinctly stated, “Dear God, thank you.” The American Idol winner, while getting audibly choked up, practically whispered, “Dear God, you did not forget about me.”
It felt like time froze for a split second. Before we considered having her elaborate, which would erupt a pool of tears, Danielle snapped us back to the present. She added, “And Dear God, thank you for giving me the path to owning what you’ve always placed inside me.”
Gratitude aside, the women considered how people are responding to the film to be the definitive marker of “look what God has done.” Taraji pointed out, “It’s the many different faces of the different demographics that I’m seeing that are being touched by ‘a black movie,’ which means that it’s a movie about humanity.” For Danielle, it also represents a validation that’s typically absent within the industry and is proof that she doesn’t need public approval to know that she’s on the right path.
Fantasia, who had been pretty quiet while seemingly obtaining the strength from her newfound sisters, chimed in, “We all have stories, felt looked over, felt like we needed validation, and here we are standing strong and we have a sisterhood. Look what God has done.”
It’s no secret that even those you idolize have private instances where fear consumes them and life conjures up a cycle of irreparable damage and supernatural healing. However, if it’s one thing to take away from this series of “Dear God” anecdotes, it’s what Celie sang in the “The Color Purple (Reprise)” from the Broadway musical: “God is inside me and everyone else/ That was or ever will be/ I came into this world with God/ And when I finally looked inside/ I found it.”
Talking to God is as much of a prayer as it is a conversation with the person next to you. It’s a synchronicity of ascension and conquering the fear of flying. That’s what you’ll see when you watch The Color Purple (2023)—the earnest, fervent trek of a woman’s cry for help becoming her call to action as she reclaims her voice and agency over her life.
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