Oprah comes full circle

With more than $43 million in total ticket sales so far, for “The Color Purple,” Oprah Winfrey can now add  “successful Broadway producer” to her credits and she's bringing a whole new audience to Broadway.

Curry: What type of reaction are you getting?

Winfrey: People come with their daughters, they come with their friends, they bring, listen busloads of people I know of a church that had three busloads of people coming. 

What is amazing is that there black people, white people, rich people.

Curry: And they're filling these seats.

It’s a remarkable turn of events for a musical that took 8 years to come to life. It was producer Scott Sanders, who  decided to bring “The Color Purple” to Broadway.

Scott Sanders, producer: I i felt that there is a part of Celie in all of us and I felt that her story had music in its soul.

At first glance, "The Color Purple" may not seem like obvious material for a musical. It's about sexual abuse, domestic vilence, racism, homosexuality, and another rarity in Broadway: it would require an all-black cast.

Paul Kolnik The Color Purple Company

It was an uphill battle to turn the story into a musical.

The first hurdle to overcome was the woman who wrote it — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker.

Sanders: I said "I'd love to turn the Color Purple into a musical."  And I think she looked at me like I had three heads.  She said, “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Curry: You write a wonderful book.  It becomes a powerful movie.  And then somebody calls you up and says "We ought to make this thing a musical."  You must have been shocked. A musical?

Alice Walker, author: I was amused.

Sanders: It didn't feel like that.

Walker: Well, you weren't there when I was amused -- because I just didn't see it.     

Still, she agreed, and when the musical went into production. Scott sanders invited the editors of Oprah's magazine to a rehearsal.  They liked what they saw and told their boss.

Sanders: My cell phone rang on a Saturday morning “Hi Scott, it's Oprah Winfrey".  And I almost dropped the phone. She said "You know, how can I help?" 

Oprah signed on as one of the producers. She decided to surprise the cast.  It was an incredible break...

Felicia Fields, cast member: First of all, I don't mean no disrespect.  But Oprah's kind of crazy.  (laughter).  She likes to surprise everybody.

LaChanze, cast member: It was an overwhelming emotional experience for every single person in that room.

Oprah now has given us just that boost of recognition nationally, internationally and-- for me, that was such a comfort and a joy to know that I was a part of something that was just so huge and so special.

In November of last year, Oprah featured the cast on her show. More than 10 million viewers saw the program.

Sanders: By midnight that night, the Telecharge system had blown up. We sold a million dollars worth of tickets in that day.

Curry: So you're saying that her involvement has been like what?

Walker: A blessing. Oprah and I come from a part of the country where we understand certain realities. She's not just telling you about something as if she's an observer.  She has lived a life that is as deep and as painful and as joyful and as depthful as any of the characters.  And that's why she I think really captures the imagination of people.

People from all over the country, who've never before been to a Broadway show, are buying tickets and packing the  house night after night.

And something unprecedented is happening.  Record numbers of African-Americans are in attendance, creating a rarity on Broadway:  multi-racial audiences. 

Kingsley Leggs, cast member: It's their family.  It's their cousins, their uncles, their brothers. So I think in that way, yeah, this show resonates unbelievably to the African-American audience.

Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, cast member:  This story is a heart story.  It's not a black story, it's not a white story.  It's a story that people can identify with.

It's more evidence of Oprah's touch. As is the armful of Tony awards the musical was nominated for this week.

Curry: A Tony, you want one?

Winfrey: Well, a Tony would be nice. A Tony would be nice.

Curry: More than nice.

Winfrey: A Tony would be really great for the cast. I think the cast deserves a Tony. If it gets a Tony, it certainly had nothing to do with me.

But Oprah does acknowledge that the crowd has come in part because of her.

Curry: Why do you think you have this power to bring people to where they don't normally go?

Winfrey: Well, I think this, Ann -- It's just that after 20 years on the air, I really try to only speak for and about that which is the truth for me. When I do step out for you, it's because I believe it in every fiber of my being.

It's because I was benefited, and I wanna share that with you. And, that is just who I am.

She's also a woman with a deep faith in God.

Curry: In the play, Celie feels forsaken.  She says, "God is just another man." Did you feel forsaken ever by God?

Winfrey: No.  No.  No One of the reasons I related to the story so much on the first time reading it is because I have always prayed and spoken to God.

Curry: You talk to God still today?

Winfrey: I still-- oh, please, yeah.  Uh-huh (affirms).

Curry:  Once a week?

Winfrey: No.  Not once a week.  This is-- this is--

Curry: Daily?

Winfrey: Oh, Ann.  I live in the space where God is. There is no question that that is why I am where I am, and why I have had the success that I've had, is because I allow myself to be guided by that which is greater than myself-- than my personality.  That's the truth.  That's the truth.

Curry: Is that the only thing that you would say is the reason for your great success?

Winfrey: Uh-huh (affirms).  Uh-huh (affirms).

Curry: It is?

Winfrey: Uh-huh (affirms).  Uh-huh (affirms).  Uh-huh. Because, I am doing the work that my soul came to do.

That work includes donating millions of her own money to help others, clothing children in South Africa, building homes after the devastation of Katrina, and taking on important issues like education and racism.

And Oprah Winfrey says even after 20 years at the top, a show watched by 49 million viewers a week, and a personal fortune estimated at $1.3 billion, she's not slowing down anytime soon.

Curry: Why don't you just put your feet up?    

Winfrey: Well, some days, Ann, I do just want to take a rest.  Gosh, some days I get so tired, exhausted. I don't put my feet up because years ago, I went through this whole phase of going back into what it really meant to be a slave in this country, I realized I did not have the right to ever be tired. There are so many people who've come before me who deserved to be tired.  Who didn't have the opportunities, who didn't have the access, who didn't have the money, who didn't have the influence, who didn't have the voice.

And Oprah still wants her voice to be heard.

Winfrey:  I don't put my feet up because the goal wasn't to make a lot of money.  The goal was to be used for a calling greater than I know. And every day, when you're on the air, you affect people that you don't even know.

There's a supreme moment -- when you realize, “Oh, this is what it was for. The whole television show thing, that was about the foundation for it.” Because look at the society we live in. Nobody listens to you unless you have some bling, some money, some clout, some access.  And so, that's what that was for.  It was to put me in a position where I could be heard for the ultimate voice of what really matters.  And I think there's yet to come.  I really do.

Curry: What is it that you want to feel?

Winfrey: I feel that I am in the best place for myself now.  And yet, the best is yet to come.  Oh, I really do believe that.  I do feel that there is something stirring, you know, something's going on with me that is getting more focused and more headed to the-- what is it-- supreme moment of destiny.

Curry: You haven't gotten there yet?

Winfrey: No.  I'm just beginning.        

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