The producers of The
Color Purple are pleased to announce that Zonya Love will make her Broadway
debut as Celie in the smash hit musical starting Wednesday, January 9, 2008,
alongside Chaka Khan as Sofia
and BeBe Winans as Harpo.
LaKisha Jones, previously announced to play the Church Soloist who opens the show
with the rousing gospel number "Mysterious
Ways" begins performances on Wednesday,
December 19, 2007. After January 9, 2008 she will assume the role of
Sofia at all
matinee performances.
Fantasia, who was just nominated for three Grammy Awards, will play her final
critically acclaimed performance as Celie on Sunday, January 6, 2007. Her first
performance was Tuesday, April 10, 2007, and she extended her original six
month run by an addition three months.
Zonya Love, originally hailing from Durham,
North Carolina, intended to pursue
a music career but switched to theater as a freshman in high school. She received a BFA in Theatre from North Carolina A&T State
University, and a MFA in
Theatre from The University of Nevada Las Vegas. She moved to New York in September,
2007, and was teaching theater and Head Start classes when she got a callback
for
The Color Purple, and will be
making her Broadway debut. Her regional roles have included
Intimate Apparel,
Wit,
You're a Good Man
Charlie Brown,
Crumbs from the Table
of Joy,
Children of Eden,
The Boys Next Door,
Kiss Me Kate, and
Smokey
Joe's Café.
The Color Purple began its third year
at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway) on November 1, 2007 and also stars
Elisabeth Withers-Mendes as Shug Avery,
Alton Fitzgerald White as Mister,
Darlesia Cearcy as Nettie and
Krisha Marcano as Squeak.
The Color Purple recouped its entire
$11 million investment in less than a year.
The Color Purple 's first North American Tour kicked off in
Chicago on April 17, 2007
at The Cadillac Palace Theatre where it played through September 30,
2007. The tour continued on to San Francisco
and is currently playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los
Angeles, with future dates confirmed for Tempe,
Cleveland, Cincinnati,
Baltimore and Philadelphia.
The Color Purple is produced by Oprah
Winfrey,
Scott Sanders,
Roy Furman,
Quincy Jones, Creative Battery, Anna
Fantaci & Cheryl Lachowicz, Independent Presenters Network, Lowy Family
Group,
Stephanie McClelland, Gary Winnick, Jan Kallish, Nederlander
Presentations, Inc., Bob and Harvey Weinstein,
Andrew Asnes & Adam
Zotovich, and Todd Johnson
The performance schedule for
The Color
Purple on Broadway is: Wednesday through Saturday at 8PM;
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM; Sunday at 7:30PM. Tickets for
The Color Purple can be purchased via
Telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6200 or at The Broadway Theatre Box
Office. Tickets are $26.50 - $116.50.
Photo: Zonya Love
