#1
Posted: 8/4/06 at 3:54am
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/lost_lachanze_entertainment_michael_riedel.htm
LOST LACHANZE
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
August 4, 2006 --
On Broadway
A hiker in the Himalayas has a better chance of spotting a snow leopard than a theatergoer at "The Color Purple" has of seeing its Tony-winning star, LaChanze.
The actress, who got glowing reviews for her portrayal of the oppressed girl turned pants-making lesbian, Celie, hasn't given a full week's worth of performances since the awards show in June.
The week after the Tonys, she missed three out of eight performances, and now drops one or two shows a week.
Last week, she began a two-week vacation that came a few weeks after she missed several days' shows to go on "vocal rest."
The reigning absentee queen of Broadway is Donna Murphy, who missed more than a third of the run of "Wonderful Town" two years ago, which not only cost her a Tony but probably wrecked her Broadway career.
LaChanze isn't in her league yet, but she's closing in.
"She's got Donna Murphy syndrome," jokes a Broadway insider. "She needs a Marian-Seldes-Never-Miss-a-Performance vaccination."
Production sources say LaChanze has developed serious throat problems due to the exacting demands of "The Color Purple" score, which is loaded with full-throated, "American Idol"-style power ballads.
Ken Sunshine, her publicist, points out that her role requires her to be onstage from the start of the show to the end. "On the weekends, she is required to do five performances," he says. "That is almost inhuman.
"She does not like to go on unless she can do what people expect of her. Every performance she has done has been dazzling."
Maybe so.
But LaChanze has a history of scaling back the eight-performance workweek. She was out of "Once on This Island" so many times that wags dubbed it "Once in the Show."
When she was in the Lincoln Center musical "Dessa Rose," her understudy, Kenita Miller, performed more often than she did.
Miller is understudying LaChanze in "The Color Purple."
"She loves understudying LaChanze. She knows she'll get to go on," jokes a production insider.
Cast members are sympathetic to LaChanze's plight - she is popular backstage (when she's there) - but they note that hers isn't the only demanding role in the show.
The wonderful Felicia P. Fields, who plays Sofia, has a couple of full-out numbers, plus some very dramatic book scenes.
She hasn't missed a single performance since "The Color Purple" opened.
Theatergoers usually are entitled to a refund or ticket exchange if a star is out of a show.
But that doesn't hold true for "The Color Purple" because LaChanze isn't billed above the title.
In any case, ticket-holders rarely make a fuss when she's out, theater sources say.
LaChanze may be one of Broadway's most talented performers, but she's not the reason people are flocking to "The Color Purple," one of the highest-grossing shows on Broadway.
They go because Oprah, one of its backers, told them to.
Now that is brilliant producing.
PRODUCERS Fran and Barry Weissler are throwing a big bash on Nov. 14 to mark the 10th anniversary of their smash revival of "Chicago."
Members of the original cast - Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, James Naughton and Marcia Lewis - will reprise several of their big numbers.
Many celebrities who subsequently appeared in the show also will perform.
Among them: Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, John O'Hurley, Paige Davis, Tom Wopat, David Hasselhoff and Marilu Henner.
Patrick Swayze will be there, as well.
Speaking of Swayze, here's some gossip from London:
He was supposed to jump into the hit West End revival of "Guys and Dolls" on July 10, but was reportedly seized by stage fright three days after he began rehearsals.
He vamoosed for a while, and the show's producers put out the word their new Nathan Detroit was suffering from a bad chest cold.
Swayze reappeared a week or so later, watched "Guys and Dolls" from the wings, regained his nerve and is now in the show.
LOST LACHANZE
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
August 4, 2006 --
On Broadway
A hiker in the Himalayas has a better chance of spotting a snow leopard than a theatergoer at "The Color Purple" has of seeing its Tony-winning star, LaChanze.
The actress, who got glowing reviews for her portrayal of the oppressed girl turned pants-making lesbian, Celie, hasn't given a full week's worth of performances since the awards show in June.
The week after the Tonys, she missed three out of eight performances, and now drops one or two shows a week.
Last week, she began a two-week vacation that came a few weeks after she missed several days' shows to go on "vocal rest."
The reigning absentee queen of Broadway is Donna Murphy, who missed more than a third of the run of "Wonderful Town" two years ago, which not only cost her a Tony but probably wrecked her Broadway career.
LaChanze isn't in her league yet, but she's closing in.
"She's got Donna Murphy syndrome," jokes a Broadway insider. "She needs a Marian-Seldes-Never-Miss-a-Performance vaccination."
Production sources say LaChanze has developed serious throat problems due to the exacting demands of "The Color Purple" score, which is loaded with full-throated, "American Idol"-style power ballads.
Ken Sunshine, her publicist, points out that her role requires her to be onstage from the start of the show to the end. "On the weekends, she is required to do five performances," he says. "That is almost inhuman.
"She does not like to go on unless she can do what people expect of her. Every performance she has done has been dazzling."
Maybe so.
But LaChanze has a history of scaling back the eight-performance workweek. She was out of "Once on This Island" so many times that wags dubbed it "Once in the Show."
When she was in the Lincoln Center musical "Dessa Rose," her understudy, Kenita Miller, performed more often than she did.
Miller is understudying LaChanze in "The Color Purple."
"She loves understudying LaChanze. She knows she'll get to go on," jokes a production insider.
Cast members are sympathetic to LaChanze's plight - she is popular backstage (when she's there) - but they note that hers isn't the only demanding role in the show.
The wonderful Felicia P. Fields, who plays Sofia, has a couple of full-out numbers, plus some very dramatic book scenes.
She hasn't missed a single performance since "The Color Purple" opened.
Theatergoers usually are entitled to a refund or ticket exchange if a star is out of a show.
But that doesn't hold true for "The Color Purple" because LaChanze isn't billed above the title.
In any case, ticket-holders rarely make a fuss when she's out, theater sources say.
LaChanze may be one of Broadway's most talented performers, but she's not the reason people are flocking to "The Color Purple," one of the highest-grossing shows on Broadway.
They go because Oprah, one of its backers, told them to.
Now that is brilliant producing.
PRODUCERS Fran and Barry Weissler are throwing a big bash on Nov. 14 to mark the 10th anniversary of their smash revival of "Chicago."
Members of the original cast - Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, James Naughton and Marcia Lewis - will reprise several of their big numbers.
Many celebrities who subsequently appeared in the show also will perform.
Among them: Melanie Griffith, Brooke Shields, John O'Hurley, Paige Davis, Tom Wopat, David Hasselhoff and Marilu Henner.
Patrick Swayze will be there, as well.
Speaking of Swayze, here's some gossip from London:
He was supposed to jump into the hit West End revival of "Guys and Dolls" on July 10, but was reportedly seized by stage fright three days after he began rehearsals.
He vamoosed for a while, and the show's producers put out the word their new Nathan Detroit was suffering from a bad chest cold.
Swayze reappeared a week or so later, watched "Guys and Dolls" from the wings, regained his nerve and is now in the show.
"I've lost everything! Luis, Marty, my baby with Chris, Chris himself, James. All I ever wanted was love." --Sheridan Crane "Passions"
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"Housework is like bad sex. Every time I do it, I swear I'll never do it again til the next time company comes."--"Lulu"
from "Can't Stop The Music"
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"When the right doors didn't open for him, he went through the wrong ones" - "Sweet Bird of Youth"
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"Passions" is uncancelled! See NBC.com for more info.
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