The Oprah Winfrey-produced musical adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple had its Broadway opening last night, and as long as the talk show hostess was in town, she reconciled with David Letterman (right) on her way to the show. Was she in as good a mood after the final curtain? Judging from the opening reviews, I'd say so—and even if the criticisms bother her, she'll still be crying all the way to the bank.

• Ben Brantley (NYT) deems the production "a bright, shiny and muscular storytelling machine that is above all built for speed," which isn't necessarily a good thing, since "it never slows down long enough for you to embrace it." And though Brantley seems to like the performers well enough, it can't be too promising that the role of Celie is described as "a rather thankless part."

• Elysa Gardner (USA Today) admits to the story's sentimentality, but considers it "the kind of sap that seems to come from a pure heart instead of a cynical desire to exploit audiences' emotions with a lot of sentimental bells and whistles." Which may just be her rationale for crying at the big finale, even though it's "about as surprising as cake after a birthday dinner."
  

More reviews after the jump!

• Michael Kuchwara (AP) thinks the adaptation is "surprisingly faithful... sometimes too faithful," adding that it "could use a little of the adventurousness of its literary predecessor." He notes the oddity of having Celie's big dramatic moment not be rendered in song, but concludes that "fans of Walker's novel most likely will not be disappointed in this reverent stage retelling and will embrace it heartily as a live souvenir of the original."

• Linda Winer (Newsday) says it's "awfully nicey-nice for an epic about racism and black-on-black sexual abuse," and "the pressures of the happy-face mentality make for palpable strain," but she still suspects the production is "built to last."

• Frank Scheck (Hollywood Reporter) saw "far better form than might have been expected," and for all its problems, it's "undeniably audience-pleasing" and will probably "have a decent Broadway run." He, like Winer, also notes that the actress playing Celie is way too attractive for all the other characters to be calling her ugly.

• David Rooney (Variety) adds to the not-so-bad, not-so-good chorus: "While the show crudely reduces the sprawling feminist saga to cartoonish episodes, it can count on an audience willing to connect the dots." Even harsher: "Like the sugar-coated movie, this shapeless stage version is far more satisfying than it deserves to be." He also observes how much of the dialogue has been kept from the film.