Felicia P. Fields
Currently: Making her Broadway debut in The Color Purple as the feisty Sofia, a role that earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress and the 2006 Clarence Derwent Award for the most promising female performance on the New York theater scene.
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois. Fields was planning on becoming a teacher, but praising her lord as part of a church choir in the late 1980s led to her big break. Two writers in the congregation singled her out and soon she was auditioning for a mounting of The Wiz at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois. She got the gig and has been working as an actress ever since.
Overture: Fields spent most of her life close to home, raising two children as she appeared at Chicago-area theaters. This afforded her numerous opportunities to work with Color Purple director Gary Griffin, also known for working in the Windy City. "I was doing Carousel with him and, on tech day, I looked like Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple. I hobbled down the aisle and said, 'You told Harpo to beat me.' He said, 'If I ever do The Color Purple, I already have Sofia.'" A month later Griffin informed Fields that he had been commissioned to direct a musical version of Alice Walker's novel. She is the only actor to remain with the project since its initial 2003 workshop.
O's Here: The Color Purple had an Atlanta tryout, but it was not until Broadway that Winfrey, who played Sofia in the film, decided to support the project. "It probably would have taken longer [to catch on] if it wasn't for the O," the actress says with a laugh. Fields had been to The Oprah Winfrey Show and even recorded a commercial spot for it in which she sat on a stoop and sang out "Oprah's on!", but she had never met the media giant before New York rehearsals. "The first time I sang 'Hell No!' in front of her, she jumped up out of her seat cheering," Fields relates.
Hell Yes: Fields' character in The Color Purple is tough hitting her husband, leaving when she feels abused, etc. and when she shows her stuff, audiences typically react. "Some days I can't hear myself. I have to wait because women are so elated at the strength of the character," she explains. "Many women tell me their lives have been influenced by 'Hell No!' It's a song that resonates in women's minds that's worth every minute onstage." That's not the only positive message she's sending: Fields believes audiences get a lot from a romantic ditty she performs with Dixon. "Big girls can be sexual and sensual, and I get a chance to show that," she asserts.
Chicago Homeland: Fields loves being in Purple, but admits it can be difficult to spend so much time away from home. She typically travels to Chicago twice a month. "It's kind of taxing," she says. "New York is so fast-paced, and I'm a little slower-paced. I have a five-bedroom house in Chicago. Here, I've been reduced to one bedroom and a kitchen that I keep burning myself in because it's so small. I love the people, especially at my theater. But it's scary to come out of your comfort zone. When you're accustomed to controlling your own life, driving your car, being with your family, it's different having to be here."
Somebody Gonna Love You: Fields is no stranger to acclaim or awards, but she is particularly honored by the recognition and Tony nomination! she has received in the Big Apple. "There is nothing better than receiving accolades from people who don't know you," she gushes. "You know you've received these accolades on the strength of your work, not because you're popular or for any other political reason. The warmth that I have received here has been the culmination of my career. I feel like I've earned it. That means a lot."