Frenchie Davis, Once and Future American Idol, Is New Soloist in Broadway's Rent, May 16
By Kenneth Jones
07 May 2003
Frenchie Davis, the big-voiced singer who was ousted from TV's "American Idol" pop competition earlier this year will make her Broadway debut as the "Seasons of Love" soloist in Rent, starting May 16.
Davis will be the soaring soloist in the Act Two opener of the Broadway smash, and will play ensemble roles, a spokesman confirmed.
Davis, a hefty actress-singer with short-cropped hair and a rich belt, was seen as a favorite to win the Fox TV talent contest until producers kicked her out in February because she had appeared on an adult website.
Jonathan Larson penned book, music and lyrics for Rent, the La Bohème-inspired rock musical that tells the story of East Village friends and lovers in the age of AIDS. Larson won the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize, posthumously. He died of an aortic aneurysm on the eve of the show's Off-Broadway run.
Performances continue at the Nederlander Theatre.