Dec 2, 2005, 22:37 GMT
New York - Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey ended a 16 year boycott of David Letterman's chat show Thursday night, but the gesture of goodwill did not extend to critics who panned her new Broadway musical 'The Colour Purple'.
Winfrey executive-produced the musical, which held its premier immediately after her appearance on Letterman's set. It is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker, one of the country's leading African-American writers.
The pleasant exchanges between Winfrey and Letterman failed to illuminate the source of the famous feud, which insiders have put down to his repeated jokes about her weight problems and the nasty reception she got in May 1989, the last time she appeared with him.
Nor did they talk about the reasons for ending their boycott, though People magazine speculated that it was to drum up publicity for the musical, and because 'she needs to bury every hatchet if she ever expects to win a Nobel Peace Prize'.
But critics said that Winfrey was unlikely to win any theatre prizes for the 10-million-dollar extravaganza. Even with the support of the most powerful woman in show business, the musical is unlikely to become a hit, many said.
' 'The Colour Purple' makes a bumpy transition to Broadway,' said the Seattle Times theatre critic. 'Like the 1985 Steven Spielberg movie version, the musical struggles to translate the spare, poignant prose of the book into satisfying drama.'
The Chicago Sun Times said the play was earnest but flawed, and 'ultimately fails fully to overcome the daunting challenges of the material'.
The New York Times said 'the show's creators have fashioned a bright, shiny and muscular storytelling machine' but that the massive scope of the book means that there is no time to 'stop and smell the lilacs'.
There were better reviews from USA Today, which said the production 'came from the heart', while The Hollywood Reporter said it was 'set to please Broadway crowds' and that it was 'far better than might have been expected'.
The author, Walker, 61, grew up in the old South, the daughter of poor sharecroppers who did well in school and went on to college, despite all odds. She won the Pulitzer Prize for 'The Colour Purple', which focussed on the difficulties of black women living in America, as do many of her books.
Your Talkback on this Story