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American Idol 3

Fantasia debuts on Broadway in The Color Purple having sold $6 million in tickets

by Andy Dehnart 10 Apr. 2007 | 11:53 am

Fantasia makes her Broadway debut as Celie in The Color Purple tonight, the first American Idol winner to take the stage in New York. (Other finalists and contestants have appeared there before.)

The play’s web site now says “starring Fantasia” in type almost as big as the show’s title, and that’s for good reason: she’s a huge box office draw.

Her casting brought $6 million “into the box office of the hit Oprah Winfrey-produced musical since Feb. 22, when it was announced that the ‘American Idol’ winner would join the show,” according to the New York Daily News. The show’s producer, Scott Sanders, says, “I wasn’t sure how immediate the response would be. But I was expecting that Fantasia was going to kick things up.”

Fantasia’s rhearsal time was cut short by strep throat. “I’m freaking out [right now] — you just can’t see it. It’s a lot of responsibility to be in a show that’s been running two years now, and everybody else had a chance to get comfortable in their parts — Miss LaChanze really put her stamp on it. So here I have to come out there and just carry the show. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s different from getting out there and just singing, because I can do that all day long,” Fantasia tells MTV News.

Fantasia adds, “When Oprah came to me and said, ‘We think you’re Celie,’ I was like, ‘Me?’ You think I’m Celie? You never saw me play the part.’ And she was like, ‘When we look at your story and the things you talk about, we think you’re our Celie.’ When I watched the movie growing up, I thought Shug Avery was the bomb. But I always like to say, when I sing songs, I can’t sing anything I can’t relate to. And I relate to Miss Celie. She went through a lot of things I went through, but she came out a strong woman. And so did I.”

The Color Purple
She means big green for ‘Purple’ [New York Daily News]
Fantasia Rehearses ‘The Color Purple’ — With Strep Throat And Jokes Galore [MTV News]

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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