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NEW YORK, Aug 4, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The Tony Award-winning star of "The Color Purple," LaChanze, has missed one or more performances a week in the show's current run on Broadway in New York.
After winning her prize, LaChanze has not performed a full week, the New York Post reported -- the week after the Tonys, she skipped three performances.
But her publicist, Ken Sunshine, said the difficult role requires being onstage from beginning to end. "On the weekends, she is required to do five performances," he said. "That is almost inhuman."
He added, "She does not like to go on unless she can do what people expect of her. Every performance she has done has been dazzling."
Production sources said the powerful songs required by the "Purple" score have put strain on LaChanze's voice, the newspaper reported.
But the actress has a track record for missing performances, the report said. During "Dessa Rose" at Lincoln Center, her understudy Kenita Miller was onstage more often than she.
A production source said Miller likes understudying LaChanze because she knows she'll get to be onstage.
But the successful show isn't suffering for lack of attendance. Oprah told her viewers to go.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
