Spend any amount of time on social media and it\u2019s apparent there\u2019s a huge cookout (not barbeque, but cookout) and invites are culturally specific (thus cookout, not barbecue).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Invites are attained via a litmus test of knowledge of popular Black culture. For example, \u201cWhat time was it when Usher was cruisin\u2019 in his drop top?\u201d Well if you don\u2019t know the song \u201cNice & Slow\u201d explicitly states it was 7 o\u2019clock, well, you might not be invited to the cookout. You certainly won\u2019t be allowed to bring the potato salad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe the biggest litmus test is knowing the dialogue to the \u201cThe Color Purple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Alice Walker classic novel \u2013 adapted into a blockbuster movie that made stars out of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey \u2013 may be the most beloved tale in African-American culture. Thus, when Winfrey and Quincy Jones as producers brought the story to the stage in the form of a musical, expectations were high. The musical has not disappointed and careers have catapulted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LaChanze, won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as Broadway\u2019s original Celie (the role made famous by Goldberg\u2019s movie performance). R&B star Fantasia would then assume the role. Later another former \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d star, Jennifer Hudson would shine in the revival along with \u201cOrange is the New Black\u2019s\u201d Danielle Brooks and a then up-and-coming actress Cynthia Erivo. Erivo has since gone on to Hollywood fame with starring roles in \u201cBad Times at the El Royale\u201d and \u201cHarriet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So saying 22-year-old Mariah Lyttle is filling some mighty big shoes is an understatement. Lyttle stars as Celie on the current tour of \u201cThe Color Purple.\u201d The actor says she still pinches herself knowing that she stars in the iconic role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I found out I got the role I quite literally lost my mind,\u201d said Lyttle. \u201cI\u2019m still in disbelief to this day. I thought because I\u2019m so young someone older would get the job. It\u2019s just unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the actor and singer\u2019s age, it\u2019s understandable that she didn\u2019t read the book nor see the movie until after she got the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had seen the revival with Jennifer Hudson and I was in awe, so that was my first exposure to the story,\u201d said Lyttle, a Jamaican-American from Bridgeport, Conn. \u201cWhen I got cast, I read the book and saw the movie and of course I fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lyttle said audiences share a deep connection with the performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny to hear lines being said from almost the entire audience. Lines like \u2018You told Harpo to beat me\u2019 and \u2018Harpo, who dis woman?\u2019 It\u2019s really enthralling to watch,\u201d said Lyttle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n