December 22, 2006 @ 1:21 pm

Elisabeth Withers

by: Hillary Crosley

At a table in Brooklyn’s Chez Oskar bistro, leaning in over a glass of water, Broadway star–turned– recording artist Elisabeth Withers is laughing—at the audience that made her famous. “The best time to come see The Color Purple is on Sundays. When that kiss takes place, all you hear is ‘uh-uhhh!!!’” says Withers, referring to her portrayal of the sultry, sexually open Shug Avery in the Oprah Winfrey–produced Broadway musical. “Black people are funny, especially those coming from church.” Playing the gorgeous Shug, the Joliet, Ill., native routinely flexes her mezzo-soprano with numbers like the juke joint–ready “Push da Button.” But she brings her own songs to her guitar-heavy debut, It Can Happen to Anyone (Blue Note). “I was originally going to sing gospel,” says the married mother of a 22-month-old daughter, Chelsea. “But the album’s got gospel, rock, and R&B.” A graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music and New York University, Withers hustled her vocal talents all the way to the top, performing at weddings, recording jingles for commercials, and eventually touring the world as a backup singer for Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, and the Winans sisters. She then met the famous singing duo Ashford & Simpson at their Manhattan restaurant, the Sugar Bar. They introduced her to Quincy Jones, who suggested she audition for the role of Shug Avery. Though her work in The Color Purple earned her a Tony nomination, Withers’ passion has always been music—which is why, when working on Happen, she insisted on drawing from personal experience. Many of the songs are self-written. “Every one is like a mini-diary,” says Withers. On the first single, “Be With You,” Withers flaunts her sexuality to regain her man’s attention after noticing his wandering eye. “I write about things we might not normally talk about,” Withers says. “Like this beautiful guy who would dress as a woman in high school and then, when school was out, immediately change into his boy outfit to go home. I just do what comes to my heart.”

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