Local groups plan events and early screenings of ‘The Color Purple’ – The Virginian-Pilot

Oprah called and Sheliah Cobb listened.

The call was a video from Oprah — philanthropist, media mogul, and goddess to some — to support the new “The Color Purple,” a movie musical that hits theaters on Christmas.

Cobb felt Oprah’s appeal wasn’t about money; Oprah, one of the movie’s producers, has plenty. It was about the appeal of the 1982 literary masterwork on which the film is based. It is about how its female protagonists overcome sexism, racism and abuse. It is believing, as one character declares after years of being told that she was nothing: “I am beautiful and I’m here.”

Cobb worked with some sister friends at Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk and organized an advance screening for Saturday. While planning, she learned that African American churches, sororities and service groups in the area and around the country were also planning “Color Purple with a Purpose” events, watch parties and women’s empowerment meetings around the movie.

Cobb said she would have been grateful to sell 30 or 50 tickets. The Regal Columbus theater they’ve rented in Virginia Beach is nearly sold out, with more than 100 tickets gone.

The storyline, from the book to Broadway to movies, has attractive universal themes.

“I think the movie is about sisterhood,” said Cobb, who is a fan of the Alice Walker book. “I don’t care if it’s a man’s world; women are really running everything!”

The novel became an instant, and controversial, hit, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.  It is set in the early 1900s in an impoverished, rural nook of Georgia. It follows the troubles and triumphs of several women, in particular sisters Celie and Nettie. The book also includes physical abuse, explicit language and sexual content, including rape and incest; it has the distinction of being one of the most banned and challenged books in the country since its release.

Oprah has spoken in numerous interviews about how she read the book and connected with Celie, who is a sexually abused teenager when the story begins. Oprah loved it so much that she bought copies to hand out to strangers. She was later nominated for an Oscar for playing Sofia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg adaptation. She also helped produce the 2005 original Broadway musical and its 2015 revival.

The upcoming movie is an adaptation of the Broadway show and will include several of its songs and new music, including a piece by Portsmouth native Missy Elliott.

Oprah said in the video about the movie that it is a “solid base of spiritual and emotional power for me.”

“Every woman and man who has been invisible, who has felt unseen and unvalued, this is their story.”

The cast includes some of the biggest names in show biz and music now, including Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks from the Broadway shows; Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson; Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins; and Halle Bailey, from Disney’s 2023 live-action hit, “The Little Mermaid.”

Cobb said that planning a spiritual gathering around the movie seemed natural. Since one theme is self-love, the church is having a “Skin of Color Winter Care” health fair at the theater and giving out skin care products.

Several groups are sponsoring shows on Saturday, including the Newport News-based Social Butterflies Foundation, which is using its event at a Hampton theater to raise money for clients dealing with lupus and fibromyalgia. Regal Columbus will be busy with several, including one by the Virginia Beach NAACP and another by the Chesapeake and Virginia Beach alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, an African American sorority. Its event includes a post-movie discussion and asks people to come dressed in the sorority’s signature color — red — or the movie’s, purple.

Cobb’s group is also asking people to come dressed in the swinging attire of the 1920s, flapper dresses, plumed headdresses and the wide-brimmed hats seen in some of the jazzy movie clips.

“This is about ‘Yes, you can,’ self-care and uplifting,” Cobb said of the movie and what the church has planned. A few tickets are available and anyone can come; people don’t have to be associated with the church, she said.

“Everyone is open to uplifting.”