By Stephen Robb, Miami Times Staff Writer
When Brévo Theatre managing director Zaylin Yates and producing artistic director Terrence “TM” Pride considered which musical production to put on this season, they consulted with an actress they had worked with many times before.
“We went to — I’ll call her the matriarch of our South Florida community when it comes down to phenomenal heroine Black actresses — and that was Toddra Brunson,” Pride said. “We went to Toddra, and we said, ‘Toddra, you know, you’ve been such a tremendous collaborator with us, we want to do something for you. What is the role that you’ve always wanted to play? What show do you want to do?’ And she said, ‘I want to play Shug Avery in ‘The Color Purple,’’ and we were like, ‘Done!’
“The Color Purple,” a musical based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg’s film about a woman’s 40-year journey of resilience and empowerment, will be making its South Florida debut this Sunday at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center.
Just a few weeks before curtain, however, tragedy struck. The cast and production crew learned that Brunson had died.
They weren’t sure if they could go on.
“We found a lot of comfort from going to the cast, and we opened it up to them,” Pride said. “We said, ‘How do you all want to want to do this?’ Because obviously we can’t do anything without them, and so they all agreed. It was unanimous that they all wanted to continue with the show, because when you know Toddra, you know that’s what she wants the most.”
The original source material
Prior to Brunson’s passing, Pride — also the show’s choreographer — said he was intentional about finding a director who could do the show justice.
“I wanted someone that would truly pull on the heartstrings of this show, someone that could bring a nuance to it that was just fresh,” he said.
He had worked with playwright-director Bryan-Keyth Wilson before, “And I knew that Bryan would work the hardest,” Pride said. “And the thing that I love the most about Bryan-Keyth Wilson is that he took it back to the text. He instantly said, ‘I want to go back to Alice Walker’s words. I want to gather her intention from the book and see what she intended for us to see.’”
“I think that we’ve created something that we’re extremely proud of. I think it’s something that the community will definitely celebrate and be proud of,” Pride added.
Wilson described “The Color Purple” as “a story of redemption, a story of a young lady living through a crazy, crazy circumstance and finding a way through it.”
He stressed the importance of turning to the original source material.
“It’s key that we immerse ourselves in the original text itself — just because of how greatly written Alice Walker’s book was,” Wilson said. “And I think that that was just a great way for us to all be on the same page as we started navigating the script and the score.”
He believes the play will resonate with the entire community.
“The message is that a show like ‘The Color Purple’ is, of course, one rooted in Blackness and within the diaspora, but the great thing about this show is that it’s inclusive for everyone,” Wilson said. “It’s definitely a story for the theatergoer or for the person that loves a great story.”
Dealing with loss
Like Pride and the rest of the crew, Wilson said he was also affected by the Brunson’s passing.
“It’s a monumental loss, one, for our show, but also to the South Florida theater community, because Toddra was such an influential voice and presence in this community,” Wilson said.
Brunson had entertained South Florida theatre-goers in, among many other productions, “Fat Ham,” “Hairspray” and “Once on This Island.”
Wilson said grief counselors and a yoga instructor were brought in to help the cast deal with the loss.
“I wanted to center them first before we really got into if we were going to move forward or not,” Wilson said. “So we brought in grief counselors and a yoga instructor to help them to be able to talk about what was going on with them and how they were feeling about the loss.”
He said the yoga instructor set up stations for the actors to paint or write or bang a drum — all to work out their grief.
“She had all these different things for us to be able to do, and I think this was something that really helped us to be able to realize that we wanted to move forward and do this show,” Wilson said. “The show was picked for Toddra, but we were definitely wanting to do this show for Toddra right now.”
Pride said finding a replacement was tough.
“I think that we have found a replacement — or someone to stand in her place — that will show reverence to her spirit and also give us the performance that everybody deserves and that Toddra deserves. So we’re ready to move forward, and we can’t wait to honor her with this musical,” he said.
Pride said the whole crew is inspired by Brunson’s memory.
“It is in Toddra’s memory that I find strength,” he said. “You would be amazed with the energy that’s in that rehearsal space right now, and the fire that people have to make this show happen for Toddra is absolutely amazing. This cast is amazing. Their strength is undeniable.”
