India Arie

"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf," has been revived on Broadway and Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter India.Arie is set to take the starring roll. The play, which is often described as a choreopoem, is about seven women of color from the African Diaspora. No other cast members have been chosen, nor has a theater been named. It is scheduled to begin previews in mid-July with an opening set for early August. Shirley Jo Finney will direct, and three-time Tony winner Hinton Battle will choreograph. In summer 1976, the Obie-winning play had a three-month run off-Broadway at the Public Theater and then moved to Broadway, where it ran for nearly two years. It was nominated for the Tony for best play, and Trazana Beverley won a Tony for best featured actress in a play. "For Colored Girls" was remounted off-Broadway at American Place Theatre in summer 2000, but this will be its first revival on the Main Stem. Arie's third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, was released on June 27, 2006. It gave Arie her first number-one spot on the Billboard 200 and was her second chart-topper on the R&B chart. This album was also the first number-one album for Motown in thirty-three years since Diana Ross' 1972 Lady Sings the Blues. Its first-week sales of 161,000 copies are Arie's best sales week to date and was certified gold in August 2006, selling 930,224 in the U.S. It has also sold 1,684,750 worldwide. Arie is expected to release Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics in 2008. The lead single, "Beautiful Flower", is now available on the iTunes Store.