‘The Color Purple’ touring production bringing its powerful message to Wichita

Joyce Licorish just missed her shot at performing on Broadway in “The Color Purple,” the 2006 musical version of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie about a painfully shy young woman named Celie and her harrowing but inspiring 40-year struggle to survive horrible abuse by those closest to her and find self-worth, independence and dignity.

“I was flown to New York to audition for Sofia (Celie’s close friend and fierce protector played by Oprah Winfrey in the movie). Out of 35 women, I made it to the final four before someone else was cast,” says Licorish, an Indianapolis native whose musical theater resume includes some 20 shows, from Effie White, the compelling “And I Am Telling You” lead in “Dreamgirls,” to Motormouth Maybelle of “Hairspray.”

But now, Licorish is finally living her dream in the touring production of “The Color Purple,” which plays Saturday and Sunday nights in Wichita’s Century II Concert Hall.

“It’s one of my favorite shows, and after missing out on Broadway, I was really primed to do it,” says Licorish, who admits she’s a lot like her character. “Sofia is a pretty brassy character, and that’s not too far from me. She is a force to be reckoned with.”

Even better, Licorish and her castmates are performing to benefit the homeless and hungry in Wichita. A portion – 5 percent – of the ticket proceeds will go to Family Friendly Outreach, which channels funds especially to needy veterans.

“We are a professional theater group, but we are also a nonprofit to be able to do good as our mission,” says Licorish, whose architect father, Bill Mays, launched the nonprofit the Cupboard Inc. 15 years ago in Indianapolis. Mays originally operated a warehouse of donated furniture, appliances and clothing from manufacturers and stores to distribute to the needy with additional support through sales, like DAV, Good Will or Salvation Army.

When her father retired, Licorish stepped in – “He passed the torch to me,” she says – to keep the nonprofit going with the help of her six sisters. She’s the president and her sisters are board members. After making a career in the theater, Licorish decided to use her art as a means of fund-raising rather than be bogged down by the overhead of a bricks-and-mortar warehouse, which she closed. They also established a mobile food pantry rather than a soup kitchen for similar reasons.

The new plan was to take Broadway shows to select cities to fundraise for the Cupboard, but also to give back to each host city through a portion of the sales.

“Our motto is ‘Leveraging the arts to help the community,’” Licorish says.

Last year, the first time the troupe went on the road, it offered an original musical revue by Licorish called “The Birth of Soul,” a showcase of seven decades of music from African roots through jazz, blues, soul and rap. This year for “The Color Purple,” which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including best musical, they secured rights like any other theatrical troupe, but got a discount as a nonprofit.

“It’s still an expensive undertaking. It’s always a big gamble,” Licorish says.

Wichita will be one of 10 stops, along with Indianapolis, Atlanta and High Point, N.C., for this tour.

Starring are Makeda Grier as Celie (Whoopi Goldberg’s Oscar-nominated role in the movie), a plain girl who is sexually abused by her father, gives birth to two children by age 14 that are taken from her, and is then shipped off to be housekeeper for a brutal employer known as Mister (Danny Glover’s role, played by Deaon Smith).

Celie loses contact with her beloved sister, Nettie (LaKesha Hutchinson), but is befriended by Mister’s take-charge, take-no-guff daughter-in-law, Sofia (Licorish), whose husband, Harpo (Lyndell Campbell), is afraid to stand up to his father. Playing Shug, Mister’s sexy but drug-addicted mistress, whom Celie nurses back to health and then finds comfort with, is Dee Duvall.

After each performance, the 27-member cast will mingle with theatergoers in the lobby.

Andy Morales is music director, who will conduct singers and cue recorded music of a 15-piece orchestra provided by the theatrical rights holder.

“Because the music is recorded, we have to be on our toes,” Licorish says. “There’s no room for error.”

The actress notes that the show, based on the 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, has dark and disturbing themes.

“But Celie is such a relatable character. You follow her from being a young girl through all the heartbreakingly terrible things that happen to her. But the show takes that darkness and turns it into strength. Through her diligence, Celie comes into her own. She learns to be OK with herself,” Licorish says.

“It’s a powerful message. I’ve looked out into the audience and seen grown men crying.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2014 at 6:09 PM with the headline "‘The Color Purple’ touring production bringing its powerful message to Wichita."