Michelle Williams To Star in "Color Purple"

Backstage.com reports that Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child is joining the Chicago production of “The Color Purple,” the producers announced Tuesday. Williams will play the role of Shug Avery, a sexy blues singer. The stage version of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel will open in Chicago on April 17. Producer Scott Sanders said casting Williams as Shug Avery seemed like a natural choice because Shug is the one character in the musical who has “seen the world.” While Williams joins the Chicago cast, Fantasia will join the New York cast on Broadway.