All those ready to bemoan the casting of American Idol contestants in musical theater roles as the end of world as we know it are hereby invited to hightail it over to the Broadway Theatre, where the TV show's third-season champion, 22-year-old Fantasia Barrino, is giving a truly spectacular star turn in The Color Purple. She plays Celie, a homely, uneducated African-American 14-year-old girl who endures paternal rape, marriage to a brutal husband, and a bittersweet lesbian love affair before emerging as a self-employed, self-sufficient, 54-year-old woman. And you believe her every single minute!

There was little doubt that Fantasia, as she's known professionally, has the vocal chops to han[...]

Adversity is difficult but not impossible to overcome. This is the lesson that's ultimately imparted by Alice Walker in her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel The Color Purple, which tells the heart-rending tale of Celie, a homely, uneducated African-American girl who endures paternal rape, marriage to a brutal husband, and a bittersweet lesbian love affair before emerging as a self-employed, self-sufficient, 54-year-old woman.

It's also the lesson of the musical The Color Purple, which largely overcomes the many obstacles in its own path, including the fact that both the novel and Steven Spielberg's 1985 film version are beloved by so many people. The creative team has also faced down the chall[...]