LaChanze
LaChanze | |
|---|---|
 LaChanze in 2006 | |
| Born | Rhonda LaChanze Sapp December 16, 1961 |
| Other names | LaChanze Sapp, La Chanze Sapp-Gooding, R. Lachanze Sapp |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, dancer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse(s) | Calvin J. Gooding
(m. 1998; died 2001) |
| Children | 2 including Celia Rose Gooding |
| Website | mslachanze |
Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (/ləʃɑnz/; born December 16, 1961) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple.[1][2]
Early life and education[]
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (January 2014) |
Born in St. Augustine, Florida, to parents Walter and Rosalie Sapp, her stage name "LaChanze" (Creole: the charmed one), is taken from her grandmother. After moving to Connecticut, her childhood love of singing and dancing caused her mother to enroll her in the Bowen Peters Cultural Arts Center in New Haven. There she first discovered her love for performing. At Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport, LaChanze made her debut as Lola in the school production of Damn Yankees.
Living so close to New York City gave LaChanze access to the world of theater. The first theatrical production she ever saw was the musical Chicago. Graciela Daniele was cast in the production and many years later Daniele had a lasting impact on LaChanze's professional development as a performer. While she greatly enjoyed the dance world, LaChanze often felt limited and had the frequent urge to stop dancing and belt out a dramatic tune or to erupt into an intense monologue.
After high school, LaChanze studied Drama at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, before transferring to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she studied Theater and Dance.
Career[]
Her first summer job was as a tap dancer in the ensemble of Uptown... It's Hot! at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The show opened on Broadway in January 1986, where LaChanze began her professional career in the theater.[3]
LaChanze played the role of "Ti Moune" in the Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical Once on This Island in 1990 and received nominations for the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical and Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.[4][5] She was a replacement "Sarah" in the Ahrens and Flaherty and Terrence McNally Broadway musical Ragtime, starting in December 1998.[6] She played the role of "Viveca" in the Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway production of the musical The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, which opened in June 2000.[7] She received a Drama Desk nomination, Actress (Musical), for her performance.[8] LaChanze participated in an Actors Fund of America benefit concert of Funny Girl, with many performers portraying the character of "Fanny Brice", in September 2002.[9]
In 2005 she played a runaway slave in the Ahrens and Flaherty musical Dessa Rose. The musical opened Off-Broadway at the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center in March 2005.[10] LaChanze received an Obie Award for Performance for Dessa Rose.[11][12] LaChanze appeared as Celie Harris Johnson in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, from its opening in 2005 to November 2006.[13][14] She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musicalfor this performance.
In September 2008 she participated in the Boston Pops concert, Handel's Messiah Rocks at Emerson College. The performance was filmed by Public Broadcasting Service.[15] She was in the Off-Broadway production of Inked Baby, written by Christina Anderson, which opened in March 2009 at Playwrights Horizons Peter Jay Sharp Theater.[16] In June and July 2009, she played the role of "Glinda" in the City Center Encores! staged Summer Stars concert production of The Wiz.[17]
She published her first picture book, Little Diva, in 2010. She was in the Broadway production of If/Then in 2014, starring as Kate. In 2018, she was in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway, playing Diva Donna/Mary Gaines. In 2019 she appeared in A Christmas Carol on Broadway, starring as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Personal life[]
While LaChanze was eight months pregnant with her second child, her husband, securities trader Calvin Gooding, was killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was working at Cantor Fitzgerald in Tower One of the World Trade Center.[18] On September 6, 2002, she sang the National Anthem at a joint meeting of Congress in Federal Hall National Memorial, the first meeting of Congress in New York since 1790.[19][20] She later sang "Amazing Grace" at the dedication of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on May 15, 2014, dedicating her performance to her late husband. LaChanze remarried in 2005 to Derek Fordjour, and later divorced him in 2014. The divorce was finalized on March 27, 2014, in Westchester County.[21]
One of her two daughters, Celia Rose Gooding, starred in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway, making her and LaChanze (who concurrently starred in A Christmas Carol) the first mother-daughter pair ever to perform on Broadway at the same time.[22]
Acting credits[]
Sources: The New York Times;[23] TCM[24]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | My New Gun | Kelly Jane | |
| Leap of Faith | Georgette | ||
| 1993 | For Love or Money | Nora | |
| 1997 | David Searching | God Truth | |
| Hercules | Terpsichore | Voice role | |
| Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Zero to Hero | Voice role; direct-to-video | ||
| 2002 | Heartbreak Hospital | Lisa | |
| 2006 | Black Sorority Project: The Exodus | N/A | Executive producer |
| 2009 | Handel's Messiah Rocks | Singer | |
| Breaking Upwards | Maggie | ||
| 2011 | The Help | Rachel | |
| 2013 | Side Effects | Wards Islands Desk Nurse | |
| 2018 | Diane | Jennifer | |
| Melinda | Melinda LaCroix | ||
| Knights in Newark | The Witch/Mrs. Conroy | Short film |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | The Cosby Show | Sylvia | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | The Cosby Mysteries | Dr. Weeks | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | Mariah Barton | Episode: "Tough Love" |
| 1997 | Total Security | Wanda Robitaille | 1 episode |
| 1998 | Hercules: The Animated Series | Terpsichore | Recurring role, 12 episodes; voice role |
| 1999 | Hercules: Zero to Hero | Television film; voice role | |
| Sex and the City | Hostess | Episode: "Ex and the City" | |
| 2000 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ms. Pivik | Episode: "Baby Killer" |
| 2003 | Lucy | Harriett | Television film |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Amber | Episode: "Undercover" |
| 2011 | One Life to Live | Yvonne Moreau | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | The Battery's Down | TiMoune | Episode: "Reunion" |
| 2016 | The Night Of | Dwight's Mom | Episode: "Subtle Beast" |
| Person of Interest | Mona | 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Pinkalicious & Peterrific | Blue Fairy | Episode: "Fairy House/Pinkabotta & Peterbotta"; voice role |
| 2019 | The Village | Wendy Parker | Episode: "Yes or No" |
| 2019–20 | The Good Fight | Julius' Wife | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | The Blacklist | Anne Foster | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| The Underground Railroad | Ms Reva | 2 episodes |
Theatre[]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Uptown... It's Hot! | Tap Dancer | Tropicana Hotel | |
| 1986 | Broadway | Broadway debut | ||
| 1987 | Dreamgirls | Ensemble | Broadway | (u/s Deena Jones, Michelle Morris) |
| 1990 | Once On This Island | Ti Moune | Off-Broadway | Playwrights Horizons |
| 1990–91 | Broadway | |||
| 1995 | Out of This World | Chloe | New York City Center Encores! | |
| Company | Marta | Broadway | ||
| 1996 | Comfortable Shoes | Performer | Paper Mill Playhouse | |
| 1997 | Ragtime | Sarah | Los Angeles | |
| 1999 | The Vagina Monologues | Performer | Off-Broadway | |
| 1999–2000 | Ragtime | Sarah | Broadway | Replacement |
| 2000 | The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin | Viveca | Off-Broadway | Playwrights Horizons |
| 2002 | Funny Girl | Fanny Brice | New York | New York Actor's Benefit Fund Concert |
| Once On This Island | Ti Moune | Broadway reunion concert | ||
| 2004 | The Color Purple | Celie | Alliance Theatre | Out-of-town tryout |
| Baby | Pam | Paper Mill Playhouse | ||
| 2005 | Dessa Rose | Dessa Rose | Off-Broadway | |
| 2005–06 | The Color Purple | Celie | Broadway | |
| N/A | Spunk | Performer | Regional | |
| 2009 | Inked Baby | Performer | Off-Broadway | |
| The Wiz | Glinda | New York City Center Encores! | ||
| N/A | From the Mississippi Delta | Performer | Regional | |
| 2012 | Handel's Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise | Performer | National tour | |
| 2013 | If/Then | Kate | National Theatre (Washington, D.C.) | Out-of-town tryout |
| 2014–15 | Broadway | |||
| 2015–16 | National tour | |||
| 2016 | Cabin in the Sky | Wanda | New York City Center Encores! | |
| 2017 | Summer: The Donna Summer Musical | Diva Donna/Mary Gaines | La Jolla Playhouse | Out-of-town tryout |
| 2018 | Broadway | |||
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Bees[25] | August | Atlantic Theater Company | |
| A Christmas Carol | Ghost of Christmas Present | Lyceum Theatre (Broadway) |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Hercules | Terpsichore |
Discography[]
- Once On This Island (Original Broadway Cast Recording), 1990
- Disney's Princess Favorites, featured artist, 2002
- Dessa Rose (off-Broadway Cast Recording), 2005
- The Color Purple (Original Broadway Cast Recording), 2006
- Disney Collection 1, featured artist, 2006
- The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Studio Cast Recording), 2007
- Handel's Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise, featured artist, 2009
- Nice Fighting You: A 30th Anniversary Celebration Live at 54 Below, featured on four songs, 2014
- If/Then (Original Broadway Cast Recording), 2014
- Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording), 2018
Concerts[]
- September 6, 2002 - Federal Hall National Memorial
- 2008 - Handel's Messiah Rocks, Emerson College
- Dec. 1 & 2, 2008 - Joe's Pub
- Dec. 5, 2010 - Playhouse Square Center
- Dec. 16, 2012 - Birdland
- May 15, 2014 - National September 11 Memorial and Museum
- Feb. 13, 2015 - Kennedy Center
- 2016/17 - Feeling Good Tour
Accolades[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Theatre World Award | Outstanding Broadway debut | Once on This Island | Won |
| Tony Award | Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Dessa Rose | Nominated | ||
| Obie Award | Performance | Won | ||
| 2006 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | The Color Purple | Won |
| Broadway.com Audience Award | Favorite Actress in a Musical | Won | ||
| Favorite Diva Performance | Won | |||
| Favorite Onstage Pair (w/ Elisabeth Withers) | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence on Camera: Programming - Performer | Handel's Messiah Rocks | Won |
| 2014 | Broadway.com Audience Award | Favorite Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical | If/Then | Won |
| 2018 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Summer: The Donna Summer Musical | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | AUDELCO Awards[26] | Lead Actress in a Musical | The Secret Life of Bees | Won |
| 2020 | Lucille Lortel Awards[27] | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Award[28] | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| Antonyo Awards[29] | Best Actor in A Leading Role in a Musical Off-Broadway | Won | ||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play on Broadway | A Christmas Carol | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ "Anthony Rapp Will Join Tony Winners Idina Menzel and LaChanze in Broadway-Bound Musical If/Then" Archived 2013-08-04 at the Wayback Machine Playbill. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ "LaChanze" Oprah.com. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ Uptown...It's Hot ibdb.com, accessed March 19, 2016
- ^ "LaChanze Career" masterworksbroadway.com, accessed August 29, 2013
- ^ Listing, see Awards Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 29, 2013
- ^ Lefkowitz, David and Viagas, Robert and Ehren, Christine. "Bway's 'Ragtime' To Get All-New Leads, Incl. Rubinstein, Alton White & LaChanze" Archived 2012-04-03 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, December 18, 1998
- ^ Listing lortel.org, accessed August 30, 2013
- ^ Jones, Kenneth and Simonson, Robert. 2001 "Drama Desk Winners Include 'Producers', 'Proof' and 'Mnemonic' " Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 20, 2001
- ^ Simonson, Robert. More Fannys: LaChanze, Kayden, Murney Join Funny Girl Concert" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, September 17, 2002
- ^ Simonson, Robert. "LaChanze and Rachel York Begin Previews in 'Dessa Rose' at Mitzi Newhouse, Feb. 17" Archived 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine February 17, 2005
- ^ "Search 2005" villagevoice.com, accessed August 29, 2013
- ^ Simonson, Robert. "Shanley, Hughes, Culkin, Marvel, O'Connell Among 2005 Obie Winners" Archived 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 16, 2005
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio. "LaChanze Confirmed as Leading Lady of 'Color Purple' Musical; Broadway Cast Announced" playbill.com, September 7, 2005
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio. "Tony Winner LaChanze to End Her Run in Broadway's 'The Color Purple' Nov. 5" playbill.com, October 18, 2006
- ^ Gans, Andrew. PBS to Film LaChanze, Spencer and Boston Pops in Handel's Messiah Rocks" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, September 5, 2008
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. " 'Inked Baby', Starring LaChanze, Opens March 23 in NYC" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, March 23, 2009
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Hetrick, Adam."Jones, LaChanze, Arnold, Lewis, Henry and More Will Join Ashanti in The Wiz" playbill.com, May 7, 2009
- ^ Gordon, Meryl. "The Lives Left Behind" New York Magazine, accessed March 19, 2016
- ^ [1]
- ^ Lehrer, Sari. "Weddings" New York Magazine, Summer 2006, retrieved August 29, 2013
- ^ Gioia, Michael. "My If/Then Moment": LaChanze Recounts the Divine Intervention Leading Her to the 9/11 Memorial" June 18, 2014
- ^ Tube, Stage. "VIDEO: LaChanze & Celia Rose Gooding Are the First Mother/Daughter Duo On Broadway". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
- ^ Filmography The New York Times, accessed August 29, 2013
- ^ Filmography tcm.com, accessed August 29, 2013
- ^ "'The Secret Life Of Bees' Takes On A 2nd Life As Musical Theater". NPR. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ Meyer, Dan (15 October 2019). "The Secret Life of Bees, Much Ado About Nothing Lead 2019 AUDELCO's VIV Award Nominations". Playbill. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "2020 LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS NOMINATIONS". Lortel Award. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "'The Inheritance,' 'Strange Loop,' 'Moulin Rouge' Among Drama Desk Award Winners". Variety. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ Mcphee, Ryan (20 June 2020). "Here Are the Winners of Broadway Black's Inaugural Antonyo Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
External links[]
- LaChanze at the Internet Broadway Database
- LaChanze at IMDb
- The Color Purple at the Internet Broadway Database
- LaChanze at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- LaChanze - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
| show Authority control |
|---|
- 1961 births
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Connecticut
- Actresses from Florida
- African-American actresses
- African-American female singers
- American female singers
- American musical theatre actresses
- Living people
- Morgan State University alumni
- People from St. Augustine, Florida
- Theatre World Award winners
- Tony Award winners
- University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni