It’s 1964. A young, disfigured girl boards a bus bound for Tulsa, Okla., hoping to be healed by a televangelist. This is where “Violet” begins, a musical opening at Syracuse Stage on Friday night.

Presented by the Syracuse University Department of Drama, “Violet” was one of the most critically acclaimed off-Broadway shows in the 1990s, according to the College of Visual and Performing Arts website.

“Violet” tells the story of Violet Karl, a 25-year-old white woman living in Spruce Pine, N.C., in 1964 in the middle of the civil rights movement. At 13, she was scarred when the blade of her father’s axe flew off as he chopped wood, slicing a deep gash across her face.

Violet was horribly injured by the accident that earned her a permanent scar running across her nose and down her cheek. Twelve years later, she leaves home by boarding a bus for Tulsa. She is a strong believer in God and hopes the televangelist she has watched for years will be able to connect her with God to heal her scar.

On her journey, Violet meets Flick, an African-American soldier traveling in the same direction. They fall in love, despite the dangers of being different races and dating in a time of racial turmoil.

Flick teaches Violet what it means to be an outsider in a hostile world.

The show is based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim,” a short story by Doris Betts, a writer whose stories center on religious faith and original sin in the Southern literary tradition. The story was first made into the film “Violet,” which won an Academy Award in 1981. It was then turned into a musical of the same name, which won a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1998, according to a New York Times obituary on Betts.

Betts is also the author of “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which was also turned into a film and nominated for four Academy Awards in 2012.

“Violet” features a score by Jeanine Tesori, songs that fuse rock, country, rhythm, blues and gospel, with lyrics by Brian Crawley. Rodney Hudson, who is an assistant professor of drama and musical theater at VPA and has worked as a professional actor for more than 25 years, directs SU Drama’s production.

The musical opens April 19 at 8 p.m. and will run through April 28. Tickets are available through the SU Drama box office and on the Syracuse Stage website. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for students and seniors. For more information, contact the Syracuse Stage box office.

Published on April 18, 2013 at 12:49 am

Contact Avery: avhartma@syr.edu | @averyhartmans