Fantasia out again Thursday 10/25 — Page 4

There is a big difference between seeing the role of Celie being performed on Broadway and actually performing it. Until who have performed the role or worked closely with the actresses who have, there is really no way you can judge. It is an incredibly demanding role, certainly as demanding as the other roles that have been mentioned.

Vocally the entire score is very heavy on belting, and contrary to what some misinformed and antagonistic posters would have you believe, Celie does A LOT of singing. While it's true that I'm Here is the only song that she performs the entirety of alone, songs like Our Prayer, Lily of the Field, What About Love?, Celie's Pants, and the reprise of The Color Purple, are sung largely by Celie.

Physically, the role is equally demanding. In the early part of the show, when Celie is young, she does quite a bit of running around. Our Prayer and then the Mister kicks out Nettie scene can drain much of the energy the actress has early in the show. Celie also spends probably less than 10 minutes of the entire show offstage, most of that changing costumes and wigs. Having to be "on" for that length of time is draining in and of itself. Combine that with the emotional journey of the role and then the Africa dancing, it is very difficult. When Darlesia is on for Celie, she has a difficult time maintaining the energy for it, and she is a seasoned theatrical performer. You cannot compare Fantasia to the trained professional theater actors that have been mentioned in this thread.

And for those who are wondering, yes, she was back tonight.

People are lined up for years wanting to work with Fantasia.

Please. Her last album flopped. Who are these people lined up for years to work with her? These kind of comments from her delusional fans do more harm than good.

Give her a break. She's young.

Consider where you were at 22. Doing eight shows a week, and leading the charge for a cast of 40 or so, after never even having seen a show before? I think she's doing pretty well.

A couple of weeks ago I revisted TCP and she was a little froggy in the first act. But her performance is stellar. And Elizabeth Withers continues as a divine presence on Broadway. Her Shug Avery is the secret ingredient in the recipe I think.

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Consider the source(s) but this might explain some things:

http://www.jjsdirt.com/ (scroll to the bottom of the page)

and http://www.mediatakeout.com/19197/knocked_up_fantasias_pregnant_and_rapper_young_dro_is_the_daddy.html

If true this won't be kept quiet much longer.