Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, known professionally as LaChanze (; 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''.

Early life and education

Born in St. Augustine, Florida, to Walter and Rosalie Sapp, her stage name "LaChanze" (Creole: the charmed one) is taken from her grandmother. After moving to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, her childhood love of singing and dancing caused her mother to enroll her in the Bowen Peters Cultural Arts Center in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. There she 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 ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

''. After high school, LaChanze studied drama at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, before transferring to the University of the Arts in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 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 New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The show opened on Broadway in January 1986, where LaChanze began her professional career in the theater. LaChanze played the role of Ti Moune in the Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical ''

Once on This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...

'' 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. In December 1998, she joined the cast of the Ahrens and Flaherty and Terrence McNally Broadway musical ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

'', replacing Audra McDonald in the role of "Sarah." She played the role of Viveca in the

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

Off-Broadway production of the musical ''The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin'', which opened in June 2000. She received a

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

nomination, Actress (Musical), for her performance. 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. LaChanze, 2006 cropped

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 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

in March 2005. LaChanze received an Obie Award for Performance for ''Dessa Rose''. LaChanze appeared as Celie Harris Johnson in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical '' The Color Purple'', from its opening in 2005 to November 2006. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for this performance. In September 2008 she participated in the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

concert, ''Handel's Messiah Rocks'' at Emerson College. The performance was filmed by Public Broadcasting Service. She was in the Off-Broadway production of ''Inked Baby'', written by Christina Anderson, which opened in March 2009 at

Peter Jay Sharp Theater. In June and July 2009, she played the role of Glinda in the City Center Encores! staged Summer Stars concert production of ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

''. She published her first picture book, ''Little Diva'', in 2010. She was in the Broadway production of ''

If/Then ''If/Then'' is a musical with a libretto by Brian Yorkey and a theatrical score by Tom Kitt, directed by Michael Greif. It tells the story of a 38-year-old woman named Elizabeth who moves back to New York City for a fresh start. ''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. In January 2022, Lachanze took a star turn in ''TROUBLE IN MIND'', written by Alice Childress in 1955. Lachanze earned a Tony nomination for her performance as Wiletta Mayer. In 2022, Lachanze began her career as a Broadway Producer. She is producing TOPDOG UNDERDOG with David Stone, Rashad V. Chambers, Marc Platt, Debra Martin Chase, and the Shubert Organization. She is also produced KIMBERLY AKIMBO on Broadway with David Stone, Aaron Glick, Patrick Catullo and James L. Nederlander.

Personal life

While LaChanze was eight months pregnant with her second child, Zaya, her husband, securities trader Calvin Gooding, was killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was working at

Cantor Fitzgerald Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is an American financial services firm that was founded in 1945. It specializes in institutional equity, fixed income sales and trading, and serving the middle market with investment banking services, prime brokerage, an ...

in Tower One of the World Trade Center. 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. She sang "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" 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 divorced him in 2014. The divorce was finalized on March 27, 2014, in Westchester County. In 2019, LaChanze and the elder of her two daughters, Celia Rose Gooding, made history by becoming the first mother and daughter ever to perform on Broadway at the same time, with LaChanze starring in '' A Christmas Carol'' and Gooding starring in '' Jagged Little Pill''.

Acting credits

Sources: ''The New York Times''; TCMFilmography
tcm.com, accessed August 29, 2013

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Discography

*''

Once On This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...

(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 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

'', featured on four songs, 2014 *''

(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 Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

*December 5, 2010 -

Playhouse Square Center Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, ...

*December 16, 2012 - Birdland *May 15, 2014 -

National September 11 Memorial and Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

*February 13, 2015 -

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

*2016/17 - Feeling Good Tour

Accolades

References

External links

* * * *
LaChanze
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Lachanze 1961 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Connecticut Actresses from Florida African-American actresses 20th-century African-American women singers American women 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 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people