purple hayes

I wouldn't have thought to go see The Color Purple at the Orpheum Theater if my sister Cindy hadn't suggested it. And readers of the Alice Walker book upon which the musical is based will have to squint to recognize the Pulitzer Prize winning story of a badly abused women reclaiming her life amid the bright costumes and nearly nonstop musical numbers. But that's not to say I wasn't thoroughly entertained. With a star-studded cast including Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Latoya London (American Idol) and the very bad-ass musical veteran and Tony award nominee Felicia Fields singing there way through myriad oppressions to triumph over adversity, I was moved close to tears more than once. Many of the songs were a bit forgettable, but "Hell No," sung by Fields, was a big winner as were the moments the pit orchestra got to break into some swampy blues. Very nice, too, to have Cindy in town for the afternoon for lunch and window shopping. To confirm what some of us already know, The Sunday New York Times Travel magazine featured a page on the stores of Hayes Valley, mentioning, of course, the beloved Miette and Blue Bottle as well as R.A.G. and Lemon Twist clothing.