Broadway's "stunt casting" takes another leap forward as the producers of Broadway's smash musical The Color Purple announced Tuesday (September 25th) that Grammy winners Chaka Khan and BeBe Winans will join the cast starting January 9th, 2008. The veteran R&B diva and the gospel star will portray "battling lovebirds" Sofia and Harpo in the hit show, which is based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Other casting changes include American Idol finalist LaKisha Jones, who will join the musical on December 19th as the Church Soloist, who opens The Color Purple with a rousing gospel number, through January 6th. On January 9th, when Khan and Winans come aboard, Jones will play the Church Soloist at evening performances and Sofia at matinees.

Former American Idol champion and recording artist Fantasia Barrino continues to hold down the central role of Celie in the show, which was adapted into musical form by noted composers Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray.

The touring company of The Color Purple is set to wrap up in Chicago and head to Los Angeles in December.

Khan has just released the new CD Funk This!, which pairs her with producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The set features the heartfelt single "Angel," an autobiographical tune that mirrors some of the same issues of self-esteem and self-love faced by the main characters in The Color Purple.

Winans is preparing to release his Koch Records debut, titled Cherch, on October 30th.



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