THE critics have put Oprah’s much-touted media power to the test, and so far it seems to be holding up.
“The Color Purple” – or, as the ads and marquee have it, “Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple” (it used to be Alice Walker’s, but she doesn’t sell tickets) – opened Thursday to the kind of tepid reviews that would normally sink a $10 million musical.
But the mighty Oprah innoculated the show against the critics with her appearance on David Letterman (giving him his best ratings in a decade) and a star-studded opening-night bash that generated mountains of positive publicity.
As a result, “The Color Purple” sold more than $350,000 worth of tickets at the box office Friday, another $300,000 on Saturday and about $270,000 on Sunday.
These are not the kinds of numbers that a critically acclaimed blockbuster would post – for comparison’s sake, “The Producers” took in over $1 million the day it opened to rave reviews – but they’re impressive for a show critics described as “cartoonish,” “unsophisticated,” “clichéd” and a “watercolor blur.” (The Post’s Clive Barnes was kinder, praising its “glowing performances.”)
Winfrey, who invested $1 million in the musical, attended an ad meeting Friday morning, and told her fellow producers that she would continue to tout the musical on her television show, in her magazine and in interviews.
So while there’s some grumbling about the negative reviews, people involved in “The Color Purple” are upbeat about its long-term prospects.
Already, her support for the show has driven its advance ticket sale to $13 million.
A couple of weeks ago, she featured an excerpt from the musical on her TV show, and sold $1 million worth of tickets overnight. Another musical number will be broadcast on the show this Friday.
An analysis of the ZIP codes of the people buying tickets to the show reveals that most of them are from outside New York City, a clear indication that Winfrey is almost single-handedly driving sales.
“We have completely skipped over the Manhattan audience and are well into out-of-towners and suburbanites,” says a production source. “Her fans are the ones buying the tickets.”
Another person involved in “The Color Purple” says: “It will be interesting to see if she can influence the people who were turned off by the critics. She’s bringing in tourists from the Midwest who don’t read reviews, but can she bring in people from the Upper West Side?”
A skillfully produced television commercial might help.
Initially, Winfrey declined to appear in TV spots for the show. But at Friday’s ad meeting, she indicated that if it will help the box office, she’ll do so.
A commercial starring Oprah is being strongly pushed by one of her co-producers, Harvey Weinstein.
He popped into the meeting Friday morning long enough to fawn over Winfrey, the sight of which amused many of the people in the room, who are used to seeing him comandeer ad meetings, kick his feet up on the table, chomp a cigar and issue orders.
But on Friday, he was, as one person describes it, “a total Oprah suck-up.”
Whether he’s in Master of the Universe mode or in Oprah Suck-Up mode, Weinstein always has shrewd ideas about how to market shows.
He thinks a commercial that simply shows cast members singing gospel- and blues-tinged songs won’t sell tickets because it will make “The Color Purple” look like every other black musical that’s ever played Broadway – and lost money.
But a commercial in which Oprah endorses the show would likely be a very potent marketing tool indeed.
The show’s producers may have another card up their sleeves as well:
There’s a lot of talk on Broadway this week that Winfrey will be asked to host this year’s Tony Award telecast.
If she accepts, you can bet “The Color Purple” will be showered with nominations and will have a choice spot on the telecast.
michael.riedel@nypost.com
