Broadway Idol

Alice Walker's 1982 novel "The Color Purple" follows the story of a woman struggling to find herself amid racism, beatings, and rape. The tale might not immediately bring to mind jazz hands, but in the most recent advertisements for the Broadway adaptation, a grinning former "American Idol" winner, Fantasia Barrino, seems just on the verge of ecstatically breaking into jazz hands to celebrate the production.

Such is the slightly uncomfortable relationship between "American Idol" and Broadway. As former contestants populate musical theater stages with increasing frequency, it is hard to imagine that the tension will go away any time soon.

With the incorporation of former "Idol" contestants on Broadway — including, most recently, Tamyra Gray, who will begin performances in "Rent" next week — it is becoming clear that the pop charts are not the only places that the presence of "Idol" can be felt. Bernard Telsey, whose company Bernard Telsey Casting, Inc. has cast former "Idol" contestants in numerous Broadway shows, views the reality contest as another form of casting call for his company. "We're probably the only office in town that is happy when someone loses on ‘American Idol,'" he says.

The runner-up in Ms. Barrino's season, Diana DeGarmo, appeared as Penny Piggleton in "Hairspray." Like Jennifer Hudson, who earned a role in "Dreamgirls" after many people felt she was prematurely ejected from "American Idol," the controversial early outcast Frenchie Davis was well received as a soloist in "Rent" on Broadway.