The Color Purple: Cynthia Erivo wows critics in Broadway debut

Cynthia Erivo previously played the role of Celie in a London production in 2013

A stripped-back Broadway revival of The Color Purple has earned rave reviews for British leading lady Cynthia Erivo.

Critics were unanimous in their praise for the "remarkable" actress as Celie in the adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel set in the American south.

Erivo previously played the part during a successful stint at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in July 2013.

Her Broadway debut sees her opposite Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, who plays sensual lounge singer Shug Avery.

While both women were praised for their performances, Erivo was singled out by most of the critics.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times described the Londoner as an "incandescent new star" alongside an "enchanting" Hudson.

He wrote: "The greatest joy of all, at least for longtime believers in theatre mythology, is the ascendancy of Ms Erivo, who was very good when I saw her in London but is even better here.

"Celie undergoes a drastic metamorphosis from battered, invisible wife to determined, self-reliant businesswoman. Ms Erivo escorts us through these transformations with a subtle but tensile performance that parallels her character's evolution."

Jennifer Hudson stars as lounge singer Shug Avery in the production

Erivo is a singer and actor who can "accomplish a tremendous amount while seeming to do very little" wrote Alexis Soloski in the Guardian.

"She communicates Celie's suffering with scant exaggeration or fuss and her joy is infectious. In the second act, when she finally gets to sing out, her anthemic ballad I'm Here earned a standing ovation in the middle of the show."

Marilyn Stasio of Variety wrote how director John Doyle's stripped back minimalist production "maximised the strength and beauty" of the book.

Hudson, she said, was "perfectly cast" in her role as Shug - whose relationship with Celie ultimately brings her emancipation.

"Hudson, gorgeous to look at and blessed with that incredible voice, is perfectly cast as the voluptuous sexpot Shug Avery, Memphis lounge singer and killer of men," said Stasio.

"When Shug shows up (in a fabulous flapper dress that swishes when she shakes it) at the juke joint owned by Sofia's husband, Harpo (that great big wonderful lug Kyle Scatliffe), every man in town shows up prepared to die happy. The raunchy song she sings - Push da Button - is hers and hers alone."

The musical is on at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre until March

In the Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney praised the production's "deep, and deeply satisfying, rethink".

"This revelatory overhaul is characterised by its grace, restraint and soaring spirituality, peeling back the excess to expose the life-affirming material's molten emotional core. It remakes a patchy musical as a thrilling one," he said.

"The quality of the singing throughout, and the beauty of the harmonies, cannot be overpraised."

Again, he reserved his highest acclaim for Erivo.

"When early on Erivo sings Somebody's Gonna Love You to the newborn child about to be taken from her, what strikes you is the clarity and force of her voice; the song pours forth from her with no sign of effort, and with the naturalness of speech.

"When, at the end, she launches into I'm Here, it's hard to believe she has anyplace deeper left to go. But she does, and it floors you, leaving you both drained and exhilarated. Erivo's the real deal, and her performance in this very fine revival is not to be missed."

Terry Teachout was as effusive in his plaudits for the actress in his review for The Wall Street Journal.

"Cynthia Erivo... gives a performance big enough to play in the Grand Canyon: Her face is a deeply incised mask of suffering and sorrow, her acting is plain and true and her singing is gorgeous beyond belief. This performance has Tony Award stamped all over it."