J. Daughtry News

The national tour of Miss Saigon has begun its rehearsals. The cast and creative team met the press recently, and BroadwayWorld was there! Check out the photos below.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, Broadway and currently breaking box office records on a national tour in the U.K.-has been announced for its much-anticipated upcoming Chicago engagement at Broadway In Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph) for a limited engagement November 13 through December 8, 2018.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, Broadway, and currently breaking box office records on a national tour in the U.K.-has been announced for its much-anticipated upcoming North American tour which launches in Providence, RI at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) September 21 - 30, 2018. In Providence, MISS SAIGON is part of the Taco/White Family Foundation Broadway Series.

Casting for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Boublil and Schonberg's legendary musical MISS SAIGON-a smash hit in London, Broadway and currently breaking box office records on a national tour in the U.K.-has been announced for its much-anticipated upcoming North American tour which launches at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI September 21-30, 2018.

The touring production of John Doyle's 2016 Tony Award-winning revival THE COLOR PURPLE has landed at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, where it will make hearts both soar and ache with the blaze of emotion it delivers. Doyle, a director best known for his stripped-down productions of American musicals, has applied that minimalist treatment here as well. And it works beautifully. The set only features a few modest risers flanked by a backdrop wall featuring several wooden chairs (Doyle also designed the scenery). When the actors first make their entrances, they bring more of these simple chairs along with them as they invite the audience into the story. This simplicity, also mirrored in Ann Hould-Ward's costumes and Jane Cox's lighting design, brings a profundity to the staging. THE COLOR PURPLE's modest production values never feel like they're skimpy, but rather they lay the foundation for the show's deeply human message.

Chicago audiences will be able to experience the 2016 Tony Award-winning revival of THE COLOR PURPLE for the first time next week. But Carrie Compere, who plays the role of Sofia, is no stranger to the production. Compere first took on the role as an understudy and then a replacement during the production's Broadway run. In advance of the show's arrival in the Windy City, Compere reflected on what it means to return to the production and her life on tour.

While its original production, as most Broadway shows go, offered the expected big sets, first-rate costumes, and impressive production values, the 2015 Tony Award-winning revival production of THE COLOR PUPLE---currently slaying audiences for a week-long stop at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 24---is decidedly more subdued and scaled-down by comparison, allowing the songs, the story, and the cast performances to shine on their own merits instead. The resulting show is a powerful, uplifting one, bathed in a loving, spiritual embrace that shines a light on the struggles, the insecurities, the passions, and the tenacity of African-American women living in the early decades of the 20th Century. I can say without hesitation that this revival production is an excellent way to experience this beautiful, touching, and ultimately triumphant musical.

Producers announce the first North American tour and full casting of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of THE COLOR PURPLE.  The tour will visit more than 30 cities in its first year on tour, including Seattle, at The Paramount Theatre from June 27 - July 1.

THE COLOR PURPLE, the Tony Award®-winning Broadway revival, will make its L.A. Premiere beginning next week at Hollywood Pantages Theatre, playing three weeks only; May 29 - June 17, 2018. Note: immediately after this L.A. Premiere engagement, the production will play a one week engagement in Costa Mesa at Segerstrom Center for the Arts (June 19 - 24).

Grammy nominated and multi-platinum selling artist Mr. Probz recently released “Space For Two,” the first single from his forthcoming EP (on Left Lane Recordings)  set for release later this year. The song is a collaboration with Justin Gray (John Legend, Mariah Carey) and Johnny Black (Jessie J, Daughtry) and is  available on Spotify and iTunes. “Space For Two” has been added to over 400 major Spotify playlists and has reached over 20 million streams worldwide, with the video garnering over 5.1 million views.

Alice Walker's poignantly sad, yet ultimately empowering classic novel, 'The Color Purple,' has found expression on the page, on film and twice now on the musical stage. The revival (book by Marsha Norman; songs by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray), honed to its finest points, tears at your heart as the story of Southern black girl Celie unfolds over decades of poverty, abuse and a loveless existence, only to see her rise triumphantly as she finally comes into her own. Directed by John Doyle (who was also responsible for the sepia-toned, minimalist set design), the show won the 2016 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical and is now on tour, with a wonderous stop at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, now through May 27.

Broadway In Chicago and the producers of the Tony Award-winning revival of THE COLOR PURPLE, the truly remarkable musical adapted of Alice Walker's best-selling novel, are delighted to announce that individual tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE will go on sale Friday, May 11. Broadway In Chicago presents THE COLOR PURPLE, directed by Tony winner John Doyle (Sweeney Todd and The Color Purple), at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (50 E. Congress Pkwy.) for a limited two-week engagement July 17 - 29, 2018.

The National Tour of THE COLOR PURPLE, now at ASU Gammage through April 22nd, is a masterpiece of soulful vibrations, telling of Celie's journey from poverty to empowerment. Deserving of Amens and Hallelujahs! Electrifying cast led by Adrianna Hicks and featuring powerhouse performances by Carla Stewart, Carrie Compere, N'Jameh Camara, Gavin Gregory, and J. Daughtry.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature THE COLOR PURPLE, WAITRESS, WICKED and more!

Thirty-four years after Alice Walker's The Color Purple won The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the national tour of the Tony Award®-winning Broadway revival of the same name delivers a timely story of self-discovery and forgiveness.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre is delighted to announce that the first U.S. National tour of the hit musical THE COLOR PURPLE, will play the Fabulous Fox Theatre from Tuesday, March 20 through Sunday, April 1.

THE COLOR PURPLE is the story of a young girl named Celie who must overcome so many trials and troubles of growing up an African American girl in Georgia at the beginning of the 20th Century. She must navigate all of her personal problems while protecting the women around her. One important character in the story was Harpo, who stands beside the women and wants to not allow the past traditions impede his desire to protect all women. J. Daughtry currently plays the part of Harpo on the North American Tour of THE COLOR PURPLE. BWW caught up with Daughtry as the show prepares to open in San Antonio.

When THE COLOR PURPLE opened on Broadway in 2005 it was well received, thanks in large part to the support of producing partner Oprah Winfrey, whose performance in the film twenty years earlier earned her an Academy Award nomination. The show left New York on a high note in 2008 and continued to tour through three separate national tours for several years. Flash forward to 2015, and a new interpretation of the Broadway musical has made its way back to the Great White Way. And amongst the relevant #metoo movement, the compelling story of THE COLOR PURPLE sings louder and prouder today than ever.

Any truly great piece of theater (or film or art or music or a book) is both timely and timeless, reaching out across many generations and diverse populations to deliver a universal human message that anyone can understand and relate to. You would be hard pressed to find a better example of this than The Color Purple: The Musical, currently making a stop along on its Broadway tour at the Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) and Broadway Across America are thrilled to bring the Tony Award -winning Broadway revival of THE COLOR PURPLE for its Dallas premiere at the Music Hall at Fair Park January 23-February 4, 2018.