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PROVIDENCE - It's been more than 20 years since we've visited with the African-American characters created by Alice Walker in "The Color Purple." Thankfully, the wait is over.

Oprah Winfrey - then a local television talk show host who made her acting debut as the strong-willed, smart-talking Sofia in the 1985 Stephen Spielberg movie - brings Walker's story to the stage in a touring production that helps the Providence Performing Arts Center wrap up its season with a hearty exclamation point.

The show is brilliant as it fuses a magnificent score of tender Southern spirituals and rousing juke joint music with the story of two sisters who rise above the suppression of their race and the cruelty of their family and situation to find happiness.

Making the transition from motion picture or television to the stage is often awkward and the results lackluster. The dreary "Happy Days," at PPAC in January, is a perfect example. "The Color Purple" does not suffer the same fate. This show is riveting and stirring, employing such theatrical tricks as mini choruses that help highlight drama and ease transition - in this case, a trio of Church Ladies provides spot comedy and dramatic effect -and solid choreography to fill out the storyline.

Sisters Celie and Nettie enjoy a beautiful relationship despite their difficult circumstances, including the loss of their mother and their father's incestuous relationship with Celie, which results in two pregnancies. The girls' bond is nearly severed when their father gives Celie to a neighbor known only as Mister to keep his house and care for his children. Mister had originally asked for the prettier Nettie, and continues to try to bed her even after he marries Celie. Nettie fights back and flees the area. Her absence leaves Celie fearing she is dead. Years pass as Celie cows to Mister's demands and finds solace only in the antics of those feistier than she. She enjoys Mister's son Harpo and Harpo's lively wife Sofia. When Harpo asks for marital advice, however, Celie unwittingly suggests he hit Sofia to make her behave as he'd like. It's the only way Celie believes men and women solve their differences, but her suggestion hurts the only friend she has. A later connection with a flashy singer named Shug introduces Celie to love and hope, as she eventually discovers her own inner strength.

"The Color Purple" continues in this vein, with tragedy and hardship vividly painted against the backdrop of the post-slavery South. Blacks are free but they are still suppressed and often fall victims to their own behavior. Sofia, for example, refuses to submit to anyone's control. When she finds out Celie has suggested Harpo beat her, she launches into a lively song "Hell No!" This behavior eventually lands her in jail beaten so severely by whites that she is left practically mute.

Music and dance has defined much of African-American history and it is beautifully intertwined in "The Color Purple." Music introduces events - the show opens in church with the rousing spiritual "Mysterious Ways" - and people ("Shug Avery Comin' to Town").

Dance replaces words to tell a story, such as scenes in the second act when Celie revels in her sister Nettie's stories of working as a missionary in Africa. Oprah manages to politicize this segment of the production, using it to underscore the need for better education in Africa where she has established a school for girls, and it is entirely too long in what turns out to be a three-hour production. Overall, however, the choreography is an essential and beautifully executed element.

Most good stories can stand on their own, but "The Color Purple" has the support of a stellar ensemble cast. It is a joy to watch women with pipes and range move their voices from tender low notes to astounding heights. Lynette DuPree, who plays Sofia, actually sinks into deep knee bends before powering up to a standing position to deliver the high notes in "Hell No!" The petite frame of Kenita R. Miller, who plays Celie, belies her power. She delivers an emotional "I'm Here," telling how she has found her niche and contentment in life, managing to run her voice from one end of the scale to the other, belting notes to the heights of the auditorium with ease.

This is a joyful production, a happy and friendly cast, and a great way to end the season.

"The Color Purple" is on stage through Sunday. For tickets, call 401-421-ARTS or visit www.ppacri.org. The tour will be at the Wang Theatre in Boston June 16-28 (www.citicenter.org or 866-348-9738).