It was only a matter of time until Oprah attempted Broadway, and so in 2005 she produced an adaptation of Alice Walker’s violent, controversial novel, The Color Purple (or, perhaps more accurately, an adaptation of the 1985 film adaptation of the book, which starred Oprah herself). The musical is considerably lighter . . .

Certain authors are gifted with the ability to create characters that simply cry out to be transferred to movie screens and theater stages. Alice Walker provided a shining example in Celie, the principal character in her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple. Steven Spielberg first brought Celie to life on the silver screen in 1985, when he earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Later, Quincy Jones (who wrote the movie's score) and lead-producer Scott Sanders set the stage for a theater production in "Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple."