what color?

i'm an idol fan. i've watched pretty much every season but one. the one that fantasia barrino won.

so when everyone made a huge deal about fantasia coming to the color purple, i didn't care much one way or the other. i was the only one who didn't care. our friend is company manager for the show and my gays were downright harassing him about whether the rumors were true.

my friend brian, the talent agent, was digging for info amongst the industry folk.

and when the announcement was made, to much fanfare, all my friends decided they NEEDED to go. and because i'm a sheep, i went too.

i have to admit, the girl threw that shit down. she was pretty amazing. the acting was, at times, a tad weak but she was totally lovely in the role.

this show has had an interesting effect in that it's a magnet for black church groups. there was an article in the nytimes recently about how there are up to 15 buses a night coming in from as far as california who have come on in just to see this show. more than half of every audience are first time broadway attendees (which becomes painfully obvious when you hear all the candy wrappers opening and all the chatter during the show. ANNOYING).

we had a friend in the show so afterwards we all went backstage. apparently, it used to be more than just candy wrappers. the cast would come onstage for the opening song and they'd whisper backstage, "did you smell ribs? i think someone out there is eating bbq!" and sure enough, security finds that people have brought meals. into the theater.

who does that?!

at any rate, rib consumption has been curbed and i fully recommend seeing this show if you have the chance.