It’s been 40 years since Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker released her magnum opus “The Color Purple,” and since then, the critically acclaimed novel has been adapted for the screen and the Broadway stage, winning the prestigious Tony Award for Best Revival of A Musical in 2016. Now, Walker’s story is being presented to Atlanta audiences in a new production at City Springs Theatre currently running through May 22, that harnesses the brilliance of Walker’s words, the cultural shift propelled by the film, and the unrestricted celebration of the Black and queer experience on stage.

With a soul-stirring score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music, and blues, “The Color Purple” tells the story of Celie (Felicia Boswell) in early 20th century Georgia as she is subjected to and ultimately triumphs despite physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of both her father and husband, Mister (Gavin Gregory). The all-Black cast and creative team are led by Kamilah Long (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), in a rare appointment as a Black woman director of a show traditionally led by white men.

It’s among the most iconic ‘80s film scenes and one that introduced many Black Americans to a long-taboo element of their history: After decades of torment, The Color Purple’s Celie (played by Whoopi Goldberg) blocks her abusive husband mid-blow with three outstretched fingers and the ominous, karma-filled phrase, “Everything you done to me, already done to you.”

Horrified, he stops cold, and Celie rides off into the sunset.