By Delia Paunescu

Between her hit talk show, her record-breaking magazine sales and much-talked about book club, it seems that everything Oprah Winfrey touches turns to gold. But what if we’ve become so awe-struck by these types of super-celebrities that even Winfrey’s flops garner praise from the critics because they have the “O” stamp of approval.This is how one comes to The Color Purple, a Broadway show from producer Oprah Winfrey. Who else but the reigning queen of all things media to fund a musical based on the project which won her an Oscar?The show has a stirring musical opening resembling an enlivening Sunday morning Baptist service. There is much that can be said for a portion of the music in the show – it’s smart, fun and authentic to the historical and geographical period of the storyline.While not too much has changed from the original novel by Alice Walker, the element of slavery has been removed as the play finds itself set in the turn-of-the-century American South. Celie still marries the mean Mister in order to save her sister, Nettie, from the same unfortunate fate. She finds love in Shug Avery and eventually forges out on her own. Lesbian undertones are prevalent throughout the play, not for the sake of homosexuality, but as a last resort against the cruelties inflicted by men.The acting is good and the cast is made up of amazing singers. Yet it’s impossible to ignore the unusual decision to set such a powerful story about the tragedies of slavery to a Broadway soundtrack. As a result, serious issues covered in the novel are glibbed over with a chorus or musical orchestration; there is nothing heartfelt to move the audience until the very last scene. Even when the dramatic acting improves in the second act, the music becomes less like enthusiastic soul and more like badly inspirational easy listening. In the end, this is a great story much better left sans soundtrack.