FANTASIA BARRINO - FANTASIA RETURNING TO THE COLOR PURPLE?

FANTASIA RETURNING TO THE COLOR PURPLE?

Singer/actress FANTASIA BARRINO is reportedly set to reprise her role in THE COLOR PURPLE in a production of the stage musical in Washington, D.C. this summer (09). The former American Idol champ starred in the Broadway adaptation of author Alice Walker's novel of the same name from April 2007 to January 2008.
And now she's preparing to transform herself into the character of Celie once again when the hit show tours the U.S., with a three-month stint at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
AOL's Black Voices columnist Jawn Murray writes: "Though news of Fantasia's return is apparently being kept under wraps - well, until now - I'm told the producers of the show are eager to see the High Point, North Carolina native return to the production.
"My source told me that the negative attention Fantasia received by the 'New York Post' in December of 2007 for missing 50 shows was unwarranted because the 24-year-old star single-handedly 'made a truck load of money for that show.'"
Barrino was forced to skip a number of performances due to a tumour on her vocal chords, which has now been fully removed.
The Broadway play closed in February 2008.