Ha’penny, we hardly knew ye.

Hot on the heels of announcing that the big Irish musical Ha’penny Bridge would be part of its season, the folks at SHN/Best of Broadway have announced that the show has canceled its San Francisco date.

“It is with great regret that we will be canceling the scheduled engagement of Ha’penny Bridge, but as producers we feel that the production is not yet ready,” said Garret McGuckian, producer of the musical, in a statement.

No word yet on what show might replace Bridge. For more information, visit www.shnsf.com.

Ill wind, you’re blowing me no good.

Actually, the winds are favorable. If you’ve ever heard the original London cast album of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s Whistle Down the Wind, you may be relieved to know that the American touring production of the show, which had previously been announced as part of the SHN/Best of Broadway season in San Francsico, has been blown to another city.

The tour, now in Boston, will go to Philadelphia and then Norfolk, where it will close for good Feb. 17.

For information about the remainin shows in Best of Broadway visit www.shnsf.com.

SHN/Best of Broadway has announced that a new Irish musical will make its U.S. debut in San Francisco this summer.

Ha’penny Bridge is a love story set against, according to press materials, “a backdrop of political unrest and divided loyalties.” The show plays the Golden Gate Theatre July 6 through Aug. 10 and replaces the previously announced revival of The Wiz.

Set in Dublin during the Irish civil war of the early 1920s, Ha’penny Bridge is written and composed by Alastair McGuckian. The show, billed as the “most lavish Irish musical ever,” is several years old and is named for a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin.

The show has its North American premiere in Toronto in May prior to the San Francisco run. There is an official Web site, but at present it is a work in progress: www.hapennybridge.com

Donna Feore directs and choreographs.

You knew Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote Cats, right? Well, did you know he also wrote a dog?

In the Lloyd Webber canon, only By Jeeves was more critically pummeled than Whistle Down the Wind, a collaboration with lyricist Jim Steinman (of Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” fame). The show, based on a 1961 movie of the same name, had its premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 1996 and was supposed to open on Broadway the following year.

The Hal Prince-directed show was reviled, by critics and audiences alike, and the Broadway transfer was scrapped.

A revised London production opened in 1998 and closed in 2001. Producer Bill Kenwright took over the directing reins for a UK tour, which ended up back in London last year (taking up some slack from another flop Lloyd Webber show, The Woman in White) at the Palace Theatre.

Now Kenwright’s production of Whistle Down the Wind is touring the U.S., and that tour (seen above and below) is coming to San Francisco’s Curran Theatre April 1 through 20, so we can see what all the fuss (or what all the non-fuss) was about.

Here’s Lloyd Webber in a statement: “Whistle Down the Wind is a fantastic story for a musical dramatist and it took me back to my rock roots. It’s a primal tale about salvation and forgiveness that everyone can relate to. I’m absolutely delighted that Bill Kenwright’s wonderful production is going to be seen in America.”

The ticket sale date has not been announced. Visit www.shnsf.com for information.

I’ve already offered up my Top 10 list of 2007’s best Bay Area theater (see it here).

That’s all well and good, but there was way too much good stuff in 2007 to contain in a polite numbered list. What follows, in no apparent order, are some of the year’s most distinctive theater moments (mostly good, some not so much).

The shows in the Top 10 were really great shows, but so were these. This is my honorable mention roster:

– American Suicide, Encore Theatre Company and Z Plays
– Pillowman, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
– The Birthday Party, Aurora Theatre Company
– Pleasure & Pain, Magic Theatre’s Hot House ‘07
– After the War, American Conservatory Theater
– Heartbreak House, Berkeley Repertory Theatre
– Tings Dey Happen, Dan Hoyle and The Marsh
– Annie Get Your Gun, Broadway by the Bay
– Des Moines, Campo Santo, Intersection for the Arts
– Richard III, California Shakespeare Theater

Favorite scene: Didn’t even have to think twice about this one. The dinner scene in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s adaptation of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Director Les Waters, working from Adele Edling Shank’s script, fashioned a multilayered scene that would have made Woolf herself proud. A boisterous family dinner, warmly illuminated by candles, allows us into the head of each of the diners without ever losing track of the dinner conversation. Extraordinary and beautiful — and vocally choreographed like a piece of complex music.

Greatest guilty pleasure: Legally Blonde, The Musical, had its pre-Broadway run early in 2007 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre, and though it had its problems, it was a heck of a lot of fun. The best number was the lengthy “What You Want” in which sorority gal Elle Woods (Laura Bell Bundy) decides to apply to Harvard. In true musical fashion, the number sweeps through time and space, coursing through months of effort and from Southern California to the hallowed halls of Harvard. Jerry Mitchell’s choreography incorporates a frat party, the Harvard selection committee and a marching band.

Favorite image:The green girl in Berkeley Rep’s The Pillowman.

Favorite couple: Francis Jue as Mr. Oji and Delia MacDougall as Olga Mikhoels in Philip Kan Gotanda’s After the War at ACT. The sweetest romance was also the most surprising: a shy Japanese man and a recent Russian immigrant, neither of whom speaks much English.

Speaking of MacDougall: It was a good year for the actress (seen at right with the fur and tiara), who died memorably in Cal Shakes’ King Lear and ended 2007 with a superb, hip-swiveling, lip-pursing performance in Sex by Mae West at the Aurora.

Favorite tryout: Joan Rivers is more than a red carpet personality and an experiment in plastic surgery. An avowed theater lover, Rivers got down to some serious (and seriously funny) business in The Joan Rivers Theatre Project at the Magic. She combined stand-up with drama as she told an autobiographical tale of growing old in show business. The play was far from perfect, but she gets an A for effort.

Best ensemble: Behind every good show is a good ensemble, in front of and behind the scenes. But the one that comes to mind that, together, elevated the play was the fine crew in TheatreWorks’ Theophilus North (left) directed by Leslie Martinson.

Biggest disappointments: There were a few of them. I adore Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Melman), but their summer gig at ACT was in desperate need of a director. Berkeley Rep hosted Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of Oliver Twist, and while it was good, it didn’t reach anything approaching the heights of David Edgar’s Nicholas Nickleby. I complained about this in the review, and I’ll complain about it again: In ACT’s The Rainmaker, when the rain falls at the end, the actors should get wet. That’s the whole point of the play. In this version, the rain fell from above, but the actors were behind it and only pretended — acted if you will — the wetness. Lame.

Most gratuitous nudity: Actors bare all emotionally _ it’s what they do. But this year saw some unnecessary flesh, most notably in ‘Bot at the Magic, Private Jokes, Public Places at the Aurora and Two Boys in Bed on a Cold Winter Night. Costumes are a good thing.

Favorite quote of the year: It was uttered by the food critic Anton Ego (and written by Brad Bird) in the brilliant Pixar/Disney movie Ratatouille. As a critic (or what’s left of one), the words really hit home. And they’re true.

Here’s a taste: “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.”

Happy New Year. May your stages in 2008 be full of the discovery of the new.

I can always tell whether a theater year has been good or not so good when I sit down to hammer out my Top 10 list. If I can summon five or more shows simply from memory, it’s a good year. This year’s entire list came almost entirely from memory (which is a feat in itself as the old noggin’ ain’t what it used to be), so it was a good year indeed.

Here’s the countdown leading to my No. 1 pick of the year.

10. Anna Bella Eema, Crowded Fire Theatre Company — Three fantastic actresses, Cassie Beck, Danielle Levin and Julie Kurtz, brought Lisa D’Amour’s tone poem of a play to thrilling life.

9. First Person Shooter, SF Playhouse and Playground – What a good year for SF Playhouse. This original play by local writer Aaron Loeb brought some powerhouse drama to its examination of violent video games and school violence.

8. Bulrusher, Shotgun Players – Berkeley’s own Eisa Davis’ eloquent play, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for drama, turned the Northern California dialect of Boontling into poetic drama as it told the story of an outcast young woman finding her place in the world.

7. Avenue Q, Best of Broadway/SHN – Hilarious and irreverent, this puppet-filled musical by Jeff Marx, Robert Lopez and Jeff Whitty made you believe in friendship, life after college and the joys of puppet sex.

6. Jesus Hopped the `A’ Train, SF Playhouse – It took a while for Stephen Adly Guirgis’ intense drama to make it to the Bay Area, but the wait was worth it, if only for Berkeley resident Carl Lumbly in the central role of a murderer who may have seen the error of his ways. And note: This is the second SF Playhouse show on the list.

5. Emma, TheatreWorks _ Paul Gordon’s sumptuous, funny and, of course, romantic adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel came marvelously to life as a musical, with a star-making performance by Pleasanton native Lianne Marie Dobbs.

4. Argonautika, Berkeley Repertory Theatre _ Mary Zimmerman’s athletic retelling of the Jason and the Argonauts myth fused beauty and muscle and impeccable storytelling into a grand evening of theater.

3. Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People, Word for Word – Actually, the second half of Strangers We Know, this stage adaptation of Lorrie Moore’s short story was brilliantly directed by Joel Mullenix and performed by Patricia Silver and Sheila Balter.

2. Man and Superman, California Shakespeare Theater _ This unbelievably vivid version of George Bernard Shaw’s massive existentialist comedy benefited from superior direction by Jonathan Moscone and an impeccable cast headed by Elijah Alexander and Susannah Livingston.

1. The Crowd You’re in With, Magic Theatre _ The team of playwright Rebecca Gilman and director Amy Glazer fused into brilliance with this slice-of-life meditation on why we make the choices we make in our lives. Local luminaries Lorri Holt and Charles Shaw Robinson brought incredible humor and tenderness to their roles, and T. Edward Webster in the lead managed to make ambivalence compelling.

Now it’s your turn. Please post your favorite theater moments of 2007 — no geographical limitations, just good theater.

Let the squealing begin.

Disney’s tween entertainment behemoth High School Musical has just been announced as a “special spring engagement” in SHN’s Best of Broadway season in San Francisco.

HSM, as the kids call it, has already been two phenomenally successful made-for-TV musicals on the Disney Channel, a string of best-selling soundtrack, sing-along and scream-along CDs and innumerable spin-off products from backpacks to makeup kits to kissable Zac Efron posters.

Though we’ve seen numerous community and school productions of HSM in the Bay Area, the production arrriving in April of 2008 to the Orpheum Theatre will be the first professional version of the show.

HSM on stage has a book by David Simpatico (adapted from the original movie script by Peter Barsocchini) and a score that has all the songs from the original soundtrack plus two new songs. The live orchestra and cast numbers 34.

Says Disney Theatrical Productions president Thomas Schumacher (also a San Mateo native): “Our stage version of this great property has been mounted as a direct response to overwhelming demand. As someone who has been passionate about theater since I was a kid, I am thrilled that we are touring this remarkably popular title as a fully realized stage production, and most certainly introducing countless young people to the world of theater for the very first time. You can’t ask for more than that. It’s a great joy and privilege for us to be able to produce and present the Disney Channel’s enormously popular property on stage.”

The creative team includes director Jeff Calhoun (Big River), choreographer Lisa Stevens and music supervisor Bryan Louiselle.

And no, Mr. Efron, Vanessa Hudgens nor Corbin Bleu will be in the cast.

Tickets will range from $23 to $85 and will go on sale Dec. 17. Visit www.shnsf.com for information. For tickets call 415-512-7770 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

The new cast of Jersey Boys at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre includes, from left, Jeff Leibow as Nick Massi, Rick Faugno as Frankie Valli, Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio and Bryan McElroy as Tommy DeVito. Photo by Joan Marcus

Third time is definitely a charm for San Francisco and Jersey Boys.

About a year ago, the first national touring company of the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit opened to much fanfare and acclaim at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre. The surviving Four Seasons, whose stories are told in the musical, took bows with the cast on opening night, and the show became one of those rare and treasured “you gotta see this” word-of-mouth sensations.

The demand for Jersey Boys meant that what was intended as a touring company could actually sit down at the Curran for a while. The first cast headed to Los Angeles in May, and the second cast continued through September, then they headed to Chicago.

Now, in what’s being billed as a “special holiday engagement,” Jersey Boys is back at the Curran through December (but will not be here New Year’s Eve, so don’t even think about ushering in 2008 with Frankie, Bob, Tommy and Nick).

This is the third cast we’ve seen here, and though they’ve only been performing for little more than a week, they’re in great shape. Word is that these are the Boys — or some of them anyway — who will be going to Vegas to open the specially tailored theater at the new Palazzo resort. Tickets are being sold for performances beginning April 4. Whether or not Jersey Boys will be truncated or will left intact at 2 1/2 hours remains to be seen.

Frankie Valli is played by Rick Faugno, a familiar face from the first touring cast. He played Joe Pesci (yes, the Academy Award-winning actor who really did play a part in bringing the Four Seasons together — side note: Pesci won the award playing a character named Tommy DeVito, a name that means something to Four Seasons fans), and then he became the alternate Frankie (the lead Frankie only performs six out of eight performances a week, and the alternate usually performs Tuesday nights and Wednesday matinees).

Faugno sounds great, and he’s got some sturdy acting chops. The one thing working against him is that he looks so young. Frankie ages in the play from his late teens to his late 30s, and while Faugno is believable in the younger years, when Frankie is the father of grown children, it’s a stretch. So Faugno has to command with his voice, and he does. His “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” was a little ragged at Friday night’s performance, but he still delivered the goods. He also does some impressive dancing — the splits even — during “Beggin’.”

Faugno has the advantage (and, I would imagine) the pleasure, of working opposite his real-life romantic partner, Joyce Chittick (whom I must admit I’ve admired since she was a member of the Skyfire show choir at Sparks High School in beautiful Sparks, Nevada…go Railroaders!). Chittick plays, among other roles, Mary Valli, Frankie’s first wife, and she is one tough cookie. Her scenes with Faugno are terrific, and their breakup scene, set to “My Eyes Adored You,” is more tender than I’ve seen it before.

Nick Massi, the “Ringo” of the group in his words, is played by local boy Jeff Leibow, and his performance is striking for how different it is from the two we’ve seen here before. This Nick is more thoughtful and more idiosyncratic than his predecessors. He somehow seems more real.

On Friday, Bryan McElroy seemed the most adrift in his role as Tommy DeVito. Like Faugno, he seems young for the role, and he’s really pushing the Jersey tough-guy edge, when Tommy needs a little more charm. But he’s strikingly funny and handsome.

Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio, the musical mastermind behind the Seasons’ success, is just plain sweet. He’s got this boyish face and demeanor that make him immediately likeable.

The other hard-working women in the cast are Natalie Bradshaw and Julia Krohn, and they’re fantastic. Along with Chittick, they make the most of their one big number as the Angels, “My Boyfriend’s Back.”

Friday’s performance marked the fifth time I’ve seen Jersey Boys, and honestly, I thought this might be the time when I enjoyed it less or maybe saw the man behind the curtain a little more. But no, I got caught up in the whole thing and once again found myself wishing the “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)” high-energy encore would just keep going and going and going — like Jersey Boys itself. Next stop: London.

Jersey Boys continues through Dec. 30 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. For information visit www.shnsf.com.

Opened Oct. 12, 2007 at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco

Purple musical finally finds its voice
Three stars: Lumpy, ultimately beautiful bundle

Those first few moments of the overture are crushing as you think, “Hey, I came here for The Color Purple, not for `Rejected Themes from `The Love Boat.’ ”

In theory, the notion of turning Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a musical makes perfect sense. In fact, Steven Spielberg’s 1985 movie version had so much music (all created under the astute guidance of Quincy Jones), it was practically a musical itself.

Walker’s story of Celie, a resilient young woman raped by her father beginning at age 12 and victim of seemingly every indignity in the years that follow, is prime musical material. At the core of Walker’s story is the strength of love, the power of faith and the divine right to find — and use — the voice we’re given. All of that is prime fodder for the musical theater stage.

With a team of producers so numerous it resembles a directory for a downtown law firm (with the name Oprah Winfrey prominently listed before everyone else), The Color Purple opened on Broadway in 2005, won a Tony Award for its leading lady (LaChanze as Celie). The show has proven to be a sturdy hit and is now on tour.

At San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre for Friday’s opening-night performance, the audience was primed for an Oprah-endorsed hit inspired by the Bay Area’s own Walker.

Then that darn overture started spilling from the orchestra pit, and when the music by composers Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray didn’t sound like bad 1970s TV themes, it sounded like incidental music for the dusty, sparkly Jubilee! spectacular in Las Vegas.

In the nearly three hours that follow, what we get from these Purple pros is a slick Broadway concoction that is streamlined for the masses. Director Gary Griffin has trouble deciding just how serious he wants this show to be. Is it a piece of social and artistic significance such as Porgy and Bess? It could easily have been, but it’s not.

Is it more of a musical-by-committee mess than that, aspiring to be something for everyone. Early on, as we see Celie (played by the extraordinary Jeannette Bayardelle, above left) abused by her father, her husband and life in general, the gravity of her situation keeps being upended by the presence of three church ladies (Kimberly Ann Harris, Virginia Ann Woodruff and Lynette Dupree), who pick a little and talk a little in brief attempts at comic relief.

This is The Color Purple, which takes place in Georgia in the first half of the 20th century. We don’t expect — or need — comic relief. This is an early misstep in Marsha Norman’s book.

Griffin’s direction aims for machine-like efficiency and mostly succeeds, though it seems whenever there’s any chasing or running onstage, his staging turns ridiculous.

There’s no room in this story for the ridiculous — except if we can consider cruelty, ignorance and heartlessness ridiculous.

Walker’s story is powerful, and no Broadway musical machine can prevent it from connecting with the audience. That is the ultimate triumph of this Purple.

For all the mediocre songs (you want proof? Try “Big Dog” or “Miss Celie’s Pants”) and Broadway gloss, there’s a show here that pulsates with compassion and love and redemption. Even the score, when it attempts to fire up some gospel energy (“Mysterious Ways”) or create a somewhat authentic 1920s juke joint number (“Push Da Button”) breaks out of its pop doldrums.

We get glimpses of beauty in the stage pictures created by John Lee Beatty’s set and Brian MacDevitt’s lights, which traffic heavily in silhouettes. But where this show lives is in the performances of its cast.

Bayardelle, a veteran of the Broadway production, anchors the story as Celie. Her expressive face, and even better, her powerhouse voice elevate the show and give it dignity and emotional heft.

Would that she had a better vocal partner on the affecting duet “What About Love?” Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child fame), as juke joint singer Shug Avery, was not in great voice Friday. The song, which gives voice to Celie’s first true love, should be a standout, but Williams couldn’t quite muster up the power.

The touring production is fortunate to have another Broadway veteran, Felicia P. Fields (above left) as Sofia. Watching this fine comedian and dramatic actor strut her potent stuff through “Hell No!” and then later make love on a porch (“Any Little Thing,” sung with the charming Stu James as Harpo) is a delight. Like Bayardelle, Fields knows the line between serious theater and musical theater, and she’s comfortable on both sides.

Also notable is sweet-voiced LaToya London (one of the few good things to come from “American Idol”) as Nettie, Celie’s sister.

Unlike most musicals, where things tend to drop off after intermission, Act 2 of The Color Purple is all payoff. The story starts in 1909, but by the second act we’re in the ’30s and ’40s. There are about half as many songs in this act, and that’s a good thing.

Bayardelle’s Celie finally triumphs against the oppressive forces (namely her “husband” Mister, played by Rufus Bonds Jr.) in her life and gets her own aria at last: “I’m Here.”

Act 2’s Africa fantasia falls short both musically (so what else is new?) and choreographically. Donald Byrd’s movement, which tries to marry authenticity with Broadway pizzazz, squanders much of the number’s energy.

But Act 2 also introduces the score’s best song: “The Color Purple,” a simple choral number that serves as a prayer to the better things in a harsh world. The warmth of the song wraps gently around the story’s tear-jerking conclusion and hits that sweet musical theater spot where emotion, sound and story become spirit.

After the opening-night curtain call (and enthusiastic, not just rote, standing ovation), producer Scott Sanders introduced a radiant Walker, who deservedly took a bow and kindly accepted a proclamation from the mayor’s office proclaiming Alice Walker Day in San Francisco.

Walker should take a great big bow. Her story, it seems, can survive any adaptation and remain true to its beautiful, wounded, triumphant heart.

The Color Purple continues at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco, through Dec. 9. Visit www.shnsf.com for information.

When she was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, she was called LaToya London, the name the country got to know when she emerged as someone to watch on Season 3 of “American Idol.”

But these days, the “LaToya” is history and the “London” is preferred.

“I love the name I was born with, but as an artist, I prefer to be called London,” says the 28-year-old _ now with a single name, like Cher or Madonna. She’s on the phone from Chicago, where she’s finishing up the run of the hit Broadway musical The Color Purple.

London and the Purple company get some time off in between the Chicago run and the Oct. 9 opening at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre.

“Physically, I’m in Chicago, but my mind isn’t. It’s already home,” London says, referring to the Bay Area, where her mom, sisters, nieces, nephews and large extended family all live.

“The thing I miss about Oakland is the scenery,” London says. “The lake, the Bay, the bridge, driving down 80 and seeing the bridge over the water and that whole view when the sun is about to set.”

The Color Purple run in Chicago has been a good one for London, who received some nice reviews for her portrayal of Nettie, sister of main character Celie (played on tour by Jeannette Bayardelle(below, left, with London), a veteran of the still-running Broadway production).

Though the musical version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Alice Walker novel was not fully embraced by critics, audiences have been another story. The show has proven profitable and quite popular.

“It’s a wonderful story of inspiration to anyone going through something negative in their life,” London says. “It’s a life-changing show. The musical is closer to the book than the movie was, and the music adds a whole other element. I wasn’t sure how they were going to do it. Musicals can get cheesy, and this is not a cheesy story. But (composers) Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray did it brilliantly.”

More accustomed to the life of an independent singer, London says the theater is a grind.

“Eight shows a week — that’s the hardest part,” she says. “I’m used to the schedule I like. This is more like a 9-to-5 job. It’s definitely an adjustment for me.”

But she does love the acting. “Every night I discover something different about myself, and I feel my capability,” she says. “I just can’t wait to go further with different characters. Nettie is close to who I am, so it’s easy to relate. To challenge myself, I hope my next role is completely different.”

London was in Oakland briefly a couple weeks ago at her old high school, Skyline, to help launch a Color Purple-related essay contest.

The topic is “How I Changed My Life,” and if she had to write an essay on that subject, London says she’d write about how she changed her life by taking responsibility.

“When you stop blaming other people and actually embrace who you are, you can change yourself for the better,” London says. “No one can make you do anything, especially as an adult. That’s when you stop making excuses and start taking action to create your own destiny.”
Next up for London: a second album — “definitely soulful but fun and funny and spunky, more of who I am” — and movies.

“I’d like to work with Quentin Tarantino and do some drama or action,” she says. “We’ll see what comes along.”

London has been back to visit Skyline several times since her star has ascended, and every time, folks at the school are thrilled to see her and make a fuss.

“They treat me good,” London says. “That’s definitely different from when I went there.”

Then she laughs. The humorous side of London, the one she wants to make more visible in her next recording, is something America didn’t get to see much while she was on “Idol.”

“I was so quiet and reserved on the show,” London says. “There’s other sides to me. My friends and family see those sides every day, and they say to me, `The people didn’t get to knwo who you were. You’re fun and funny. Get that out there.’ I’m like a comedian and an improvisational actress. There are some people I know who would say about me, `This girl is nuts.’ It’s time for me to put that out there and let everyone see that.”

During our conversation, that fun side emerged several times. When I asked London if, during the Chicago run of Purple she got to spend any quality time with the show’s big-name producer, Oprah Winfrey. London said that some cast members were invited to be in the audience for a taping of Oprah’s show, and during one of the commercial breaks, Oprah introduced them.

“Afterward, we got to have our pictures taken with her, so there was a little small talk,” London says. “So I didn’t get quality time with her. I did have an orgy with her, but I had to share her.”

Then there’s a wicked little laugh. “Moving right along…” London says.

For information about The Color Purple, visit www.shnsf.com.

And if you’re wondering if London has the goods or if she’s another “American Idol” hype machine by-product, just check out this clip of her singing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on the show.