Logo

Michelle Williams took the stage as Shug Avery this week in Chicago's production of The Color Purple. Performing at the Cadillac Palace, Michelle has returned home to show all of her family and friends just who she has become. She plays the role of Shug Avery, the sultry blues singer whose relationship with lead character Celie is the show’s controversial centerpiece. When asked how her church community as well as other religious friends would respond to a story where she portrayed a lesbian at heart, she responded, "I know people are going to be waiting for that," Williams says of the show’s famous first kiss. "But if that’s what you’re waiting on, then you’ve missed the whole thing from the time it began to the time it ends. Shug and Celie, they both have their own journeys and were able to find out what love is supposed to feel like. That you’re not supposed to feel abused." Overall, WIlliams is elated to be a part of the cast and prides herself for landing such a role.