New York, December 1, 2005 – Oprah Winfrey is so powerful, she stopped traffic on Broadway with the opening of her stage version of The Color Purple. West 53rd Street was closed off for Oprah’s pre-show appearance on David Letterman’s Late Show, and the barricades remained in place when she finished her stint. Letterman escorted Oprah out of his studio, and crowds cheered as the pair crossed the street to the Broadway Theatre, where Purple had the sidewalk covered with acres of red carpet.

Oprah spent some time on that carpet, greeting an incredible array of guests from Ruby Dee to Chris Rock to David Bowie to Donald Trump. Even we got goose bumps when 2005 Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx embraced Sidney Poitier, who broke the Oscar color barrier in 1964. And there was a frisson of excitement when the rarely seen Tina Turner quietly approached Oprah, chatted for a few moments, and then dashed inside the theater. (Turner still looks amazing.)

Author Alice Walker, who wrote the original Color Purple book that spawned the 1985 movie and 2005 musical, took all the Hollywood hoopla in stride. Naomi Campbell and Diddy, predictably, were among the last to arrive.