ANGEL RECORDS RELEASES THE CAST ALBUM FOR THE NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL HIT: THE COLOR PURPLE

"A bright odyssey of survival and triumph with a fairy-tale sense of wonder,
'Purple' strikes sparks."
THE NEW YORK TIMES

"...a joyful, soaring Broadway musical."
TIME

Angel Records, a division of EMI Music, releases the original cast recording of the new hit Broadway musical The Color Purple. The Color Purple opened on December 1, 2005, at the Broadway Theater in New York City.

The show is drawn from Alice Walker's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the landmark film by Steven Spielberg, The Color Purple is an inspiring and unforgettable story of a woman, who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world. With a moving book and a score featuring jazz, gospel, blues and pop, The Color Purple is about hope and a musical celebration of life.

The cast recording is produced by Grammy Award winner Jay D. Saks, and features the dynamic cast that includes LaChanze as Celie, Elisabeth Withers-Mendes as Shug, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Nettie, Kingsley Leggs as Mister, Brandon Victor Dixon as Harpo and Krisha Marcano as Squeak.

Directed by Gary Griffin, The Color Purple features a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman, original music and lyrics by Grammy nominated and Grammy Award-winning composer/lyricists Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.

The show is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones.

"I'm extremely honored that the producers of The Color Purple have chosen Angel for the release of the original Broadway cast CD of the show," says Bruce Lundvall, CEO & President of EMI Jazz & Classics. "It's the best Broadway score I've heard in years and has songs that will reach a wider audience
than just Broadway."

"The very first meeting I had with Bruce Lundvall and the Angel team, they articulated a big-picture vision for taking The Color Purple music to both a Broadway and a mainstream audience," says Scott Sanders, lead producer of The Color Purple. "It was clear they were the right music partner for us."