Jeannette Bayardelle
Jeanette is a Hunter College graduate from New York City. The gospel recording artist released her debut CD, Praise Report in September 2005. She has also appeared in the national and international tours of Big River, Rent and Sister Act and an off-Broadway production of Best of Both Worlds. www.jeannettebayardelle.com





Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!

Michelle Williams
A native of Rockford, Illinois, Ms. Williams began singing at age 7 in her local church. Her dream to conquer the world stage was realized when she joined Destiny's Child in 2000. She performed with the group around the world, gaining multiplatinum success and winning Grammy Awards for The Writing's on the Wall, Survivor and Destiny's Fulfilled. Ms. Williams also has achieved success as a solo artist and Broadway star. In 2002, she released the number one gospel album Heart to Yours. In 2003, her second solo album, Do You Know, claimed the number two spot on the Billboard gospel chart, and she starred on Broadway in Elton John and Tim Rice's hit Aida. In 2008, Michelle is looking forward to the release of her first solo collection of classic and contemporary R&B gems.

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!

Felicia Fields
Ms. Fields is a native Chicagoan whose portrayal of Sofia in The Color Purple on Broadway earned her a Tony Award nomination. She also received a 2006 Theatre World Award, a Clarence Derwent Award and two Broadway.com Awards and was a 2006 Drama League honoree. Felicia has received award nominations in Chicago for her performances as Ella Fitzgerald in Jammin' with Pops, Katisha in Hot Mikado, Queenie in Show Boat, Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Nell/Amelia in Ain't Misbehavin', Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! and Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls, to name a few. Felicia's performance in Chicago's Drury Lane production of Sophisticated Ladies earned her the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
LaToya London
Now known to her fans simply as London, LaToya London was named the early front-runner to win season three of American Idol by Simon Cowell and Elton John. On the show, she joined the ranks of "The Three Divas," alongside Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia Barrino before she was voted off, ending up in fourth place. London later garnered a recording deal with Peak Records and two Billboard-topping singles. She has appeared in regional productions in the tours of Beehive, Issues, Handles Messiah and Quincy Jones's Blues in the Night at the Hollywood Bowl. Her debut album, Love & Life, is in stores now.


Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Rufus Bonds Jr.
Mr. Bonds played Mufasa in Julie Taymor's Broadway production of The Lion King. He recently won an LA Weekly nomination for best ensemble for his work in the Los Angeles premiere of Because They Have No Words, directed by Emilie Beck. Mr. Bonds also received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Jim in the Los Angeles Deaf West production of Big River. He has worked with such greats as Stephen Sondheim in Merrily We Roll Along, William Finn in Romance in Hard Times and Harold Prince in Parade, for which Mr. Bonds was nominated for the Drama Desk and the FANY awards.

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Stu James
Mr. James, a native of Atlanta and a graduate of Morehouse College, portrayed Benny in the Broadway production of Rent. His off-Broadway and regional credits include Barnstormer, Ain't Misbehavin', Once on This Island and Cotton Patch Gospel. He also has appeared in films including Bill Condon's Dreamgirls, Downtown: A Street Tale, House of Grim and the D.K. Holmes feature Burning Sands. On television, Mr. James has appeared on General Hospital, All My Children and Barbershop. Currently, he is putting the finishing touches on his debut album, Love Is, as well as working on a one-man show called Son of the South. www.myspace.com/stujameslive

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Stephanie St. James
Ms. St. James is a Los Angeles-based actress, singer, songwriter and advocate for the disease endometriosis. Her previous acting credits include tours of Fame and Footloose, as well as the film Traces. Ms. St. James dedicates her performance in The Color Purple to her family and the memory of her grandmother Sofia, who was a Holocaust survivor. www.stephaniestjames.com 




Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Gary Griffin
Mr. Griffin is making his Broadway debut with The Color Purple. Gary's production of Pacific Overtures was seen at London's Donmar Warehouse and received the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production. In New York Gary has directed The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Pardon My English and The New Moon for City Center Encores! and Beautiful Thing at the Cherry Lane Theatre. He is associate artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre where he has directed A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George. His production of My Fair Lady played both the McCarter Theatre and Hartford Stage last season after its debut at Chicago's Court Theatre. Gary has received eight Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing and has twice been named a Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts by the Chicago Tribune.

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Alice Walker
Ms. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for her third novel, The Color Purple, which was made into an internationally popular film by Steven Spielberg. Her other best-selling novels, which have been translated into more than two dozen languages, include By the Light of My Father's Smile, Possessing the Secret of Joy and The Temple of My Familiar. Her most recent fiction work, Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, was published in 2004. Ms. Walker is also the author of several collections of short stories, essays and poems as well as children's books. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international journals and magazines. An activist and social visionary, Ms. Walker has been a participant in most of the major movements of planetary change, among them the human and civil rights movement in the South, the hands off Cuba movement, the women's movement, the Native American and indigenous rights movement, the free South Africa movement, the environmental and animal rights movement and the peace movement. Her advocacy on behalf of the dispossessed has, in the words of her biographer, Evelyn C. White, "spanned the globe."

Get to know the Broadway cast of The Color Purple!
Published 07/15/2006

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