Bayardelle, White, Marshall Join The Color Purple, 11/5

On November 5th, LaChanze will bid farewell to The Color Purple, the musical in which she gives a Tony Award-winning performance as Celie.

Jeannette I. Bayardelle, who has been one of LaChanze's understudies throughout the run of the show, has been announced to succeed her as Celie.  In addition, Alton Fitzgerald White (Ragtime) and Larry Marshall (The Full Monty) will respectively replace Kingsley Leggs and  Lou Myers as Mister and Ol' Mister. All three begin performances in their new roles on November 6th.

"We are extremely excited that a member of the Broadway company and our 'Color Purple' family will be taking over the role of Celie," said Scott Sanders, lead producer of The Color Purple.  "Gary Griffin and the creative team have nearly completed the process of casting the First National tour, which begins in April, 2007 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago.  We've been fortunate to see a tremendous number of talented performers for  both the Broadway and road companies.  It is this exceptional talent pool which allows The Color Purple to be one of the strongest ensemble shows in theatre today."

Bayardelle appeared off Broadway in Another Chance and Best of Both Worlds and toured in the Deaf West production of Big River. She also toured in Rent alongside Constantine Maroulis and appeared in a European production of Sister Act. She released the gospel-flavored CD "Praise Report" in September 2005. A native of the Bronx, Bayardelle began singing in church with her sisters at age five and earned a B.S. in health science from Hunter College.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Alice Walker novel and the Steven Speilberg film that it inspired, The Color Purple also features Darlesia Cearcy, Felicia P. Fields, Brandon Dixon, Kingsley Leggs and Krisha Marcano among the show's cast. The musical--of which Oprah Winfrey is one of the producers--opened at the Broadway Theatre on December 1st, 2005.

The Color Purple is directed by Gary Griffin, while Marsha Norman (Pulitzer Prize-winner for 'night, Mother, The Secret Garden) wrote the book. The show's eclectic score, which blends gospel, pop, ragtime and blues, was penned by pop tunesmiths Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Donald Byrd is The Color Purple's choreographer, while the design team design team comprises John Lee Beatty (sets), Paul Tazewell (costumes), Brian MacDevitt (lighting), and Jon Weston (sound). Orchestrations were provided by Jonathan Tunick, Kevin Stites is the music supervisor and Linda Twine the musical director.

Visit www.colorpurple.com for tickets and more information.

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