The Color Purple

I haven’t seen the stage musical version of “The Color Purple” and wasn’t sure how I’d feel about music being added to this tale of Celie, a woman who seems to be abused when she’s not being outright ignored. But it actually works well, bringing a sense of escape and joy — hinting of Celie’s transformation and (spoiler alert) a relatively happy ending. The songs by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray are so good, they might make you want to buy the soundtrack. I will say that some plot elements don’t track logically. After all the letters Celie’s sister Nettie writes from abroad, the sole one Celie actually receives speculates that Mister (Celie’s abusive husband) has been stealing the previous notes? After being such an ogre, Mister utterly transforms? The performances are pretty great all around. Fantasia Barrino is fantastic, particularly in Celie’s final solo song, “I’m Here,” which will bring tears to your eyes. And Danielle Brooks impresses in her Oscar-nominated turn as Sofia, the spitfire who pays dearly for being a Black woman with a strong opinion and sense of self. If “The Color Purple” got shorted on Academy Awards noms, at least Brooks got hers.

— Kristina Dorsey

How Love Begins

Nicole Zuraitis

Yes, she’s a native Nutmegger and has a fine but arguably underappreciated career as a New York City-based jazz vocalist/pianist. Her latest record, “How Love Begins,” just won a Jazz Album of the Year Grammy, and it’s one of those odd occasions when the Grammy People got something right. This is a terrific collection of original (and co-written) material that spans the expanse of jazz stylings. The production and musicianship is top of the line — master bassist Christian McBride guested and co-produced — and Zuraitis lets her voice control the vibe and mood, providing an instant consistency to a collection that includes pop, bop and post-fusion. My are the slower songs like “Travel,” “Well Planned, Well Played,” the title track” and “The Garden,” all of which capture the yearning and anticipation of a journey into new love.

— Rick Koster

Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans

10 p.m. Tuesdays on FX and streaming on Hulu

This should have been a deliciously decadent series. It zeroes in, after all, on the “Real Housewives”-like feud between author Truman Capote and the upper-crust women he befriended — and then betrayed by writing about their most personal dramas. In this series by Ryan Murphy, though, Capote comes across as woefully untrustworthy and almost malevolent to begin with. Why would anyone have faith in him? The stylized nature of the production is intriguing, though, and the actors do well. As Capote, Tom Hollaner in particular seems to be having a great time. But how much time do you want to spend with these people, who seem self-absorbed to a fault? One other thing: The volume of the “background” music versus dialogue is way out of whack, one of the worst examples I’ve experienced.

— Kristina Dorsey