Berklee Today: Elisabeth Withers-Mendes '94

With a lead role on Broadway in The Color Purple and a recording contract with Blue Note, this singer is living her dreams.

Rob Hochschild

June 9, 2006

It's a Friday afternoon in March, and vocalist Elisabeth Withers-Mendes '94 steps into her Jersey City condominium looking like any other woman. Gone is the slinky, shiny dress and the over-the-top sass she was wearing the night before in her role as Shug Avery in the critically hailed Broadway production of The Color Purple. Today, she has on blue jeans and a tan baseball cap, and is carrying two dozen jars of baby food encased in shrinkwrap. The errand is the task of the moment for a woman balancing eight shows per week, a husband, a one-year-old daughter, and frequent recording sessions. She hands the baby food to her husband Damon, a fellow musician, who pivots, drops the package on the kitchen counter, and immediately begins opening it. The couple exhibits smooth rhythm even when handling domestic chores. They manage the busyness of their lives with grace.