Then/Now: The Color Purple, Capitol Steps/Fools, and Kingdom Table/Birches

If you live long enough, new variations of old favorites tend to reappear. In no particular order, there’s the old “Law and Order” and now, the new, albeit with a greatly reduced, almost-cameo role for the dashing Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy; Old “Sex in the City” and the new renamed, “And Just Like That,” a decade and a few mediocre movies later. Old: your mother’s crimson lipstick; new: even brighter red Taylor Swift lips. And, there’s the old Jon Stewart, and the brand new, Monday-nights-only, still-loved (1.9 million viewers) Jon Stewart. Here are three more then and now phenoms in or near the Upper Valley.

Then: The Color Purple, and Now: The Color Purple

The Color Purple began as a book by Alice Walker published in 1982, coincidentally the year I moved to the Upper Valley. Since then:

Every generation gets its own “The Color Purple.”

The decades-spanning story follows a Black woman named Celie who overcomes trauma, finds love and learns to forgive. Steven Spielberg directed the 1985 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, which was adapted from Alice Walker’s 1982 novel. A Broadway musical opened in New York in 2005 and was revived in 2015 with Cynthia Erivo.

The latest iteration is “The Color Purple” movie musical starring “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino as Celie. The film isn’t a strict re-creation of the stage show, which was almost entirely sung-through. In fact, nearly two dozen Broadway songs are missing from the movie, replaced with either spoken dialogue or fresh tunes.—USA Today

The 2023 film version (trailer, top) is playing this Saturday, February 17 at the Hopkins Center, Loew Auditorium, as “part of the Dartmouth Film Society series "It's Complicated," about messy relationships, forbidden love and romance gone wrong.” Tickets here.

Then: Capitol Steps, and Now: Capitol Fools

When the Capitol Steps called it quits in 2021, they ended 40 years of live performance political satire that skewed both Democrats and Republicans and anyone else who needed it. They have re-emerged as the Capitol Fools (photo, above), a new iteration that includes some Capitol Steps alums. You can catch their act at the gorgeously renovated Lebanon Opera House on March 9. Take yourself and the young people in your life for a performance that is sure to start a conversation. More information and tickets here.

“On the heels of Super Tuesday and Town Meeting Day, The Fools arrive in the Upper Valley with many beloved bits from The Capitol Steps days (including the mind-boggling backward-talking spoonerisms) along with breakneck costume changes, over-the-top impressions, and all-new song parodies and skits reflecting the day’s news.”—LOH

Then: Kingdom Table, and Now: Birches

Time was that on a trip to or through St. Johnsbury, I’d settle in at a sidewalk table for a satisfying lunch at the Kingdom Taproom and Table on Railroad Street. The Taproom remains, but the Table has just closed. The happy news is that Boule Bakery across the street is the new tenant in the former Kingdom Table space, with plans to open a new restaurant, Birches, that will serve lunch and brunch-type dishes, to wit: eggs benedict on their own house-made English muffins, sourdough waffles, and mimosas made with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Dinner service to follow. Boule Bakery was covered in a former Artful post (click here) and their pastries and breads were (and I assume, still are) superb. Stay tuned or check their Facebook page periodically for an announcement of an opening date. And keep a good thought for that brunch.

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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word..