Patti LaBelle and Jill Scott Will Be Featured on Color Purple CD
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
The original cast recording of The Color Purple will be released by Angel Records on January 24 and will feature a bonus track of Grammy Award winner Patti LaBelle and rising pop star Jill Scott duetting on “What About Love,” written by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. That version of the duet will be released as a single earlier in January; in the show, the song is performed by LaChanze (as Celie) and Elisabeth Winters-Mendes (as Shug Avery).
The Color Purple is set to open at the Broadway Theatre on December 1. Adapted from Alice Walker’s novel and Steven Spielberg’s film version, the show is directed by Gary Griffin, with a book by Marsha Norman and choreography by Donald Byrd. It also stars Felicia P. Fields, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kingsley Leggs, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Krisha Marcano. The musical is produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, and Quincy Jones.
In related news, it has been announced that Winfrey will appear on The Late Show With David Letterman on December 1 to promote the production. The Emmy-winning talk show host, who has eschewed Letterman’s overtures to be his guest for more than 12 years, recently featured members of the Color Purple cast on The Oprah Winfrey Show, leading to a significant bump in ticket sales.
