LOS ANGELES—The critics are right: Daniel Radcliffe does not disappoint in “Equus.”

We saw the “Harry Potter” actor’s play on our recent trip to New York. Daniel was brave to take on such a complex stage role. But he delivers and matches the brilliance of theater veteran Richard Griffiths, Harry’s dreaded Uncle Vernon Dursley. And yes, Daniel does indeed a full, extended monty. Fans are jamming 44th Street after every performance to cheer and see more of Daniel as he exits Broadhurst Theatre.

* * *
Four years after “American Idol” Simon Cowell famously insulted her as being “out of her league,” Jennifer Hudson is still being asked by reporters about that biting remark.

But with her first solo album finally out and selling well, not to mention her Oscar and Golden Globe trophies for her spectacular turn in “Dreamgirls,” Jennifer couldn’t help but answer with a certain amount of relish.

“There is a lesson in everything,” the singer-actress, who was in the hit movie version of “Sex and the City,” said with a smile in our recent interview with her. “I tried to take from that experience, whether it was negative or positive feedback. Simon did tell me I was out of my league. Maybe he was right because now I’m in a different league (laughter). Maybe I was put back in the right league. He said, ‘You’re out of your league.’ Oh well, I’m supposed to be in another league. Now I’ve moved to that (league).”

Winning league

Call it the winning league. According to Variety, Jennifer is the first “American Idol” finalist who did not make it to the top four to notch six-digit sales on an album. The self-titled CD features “Spotlight,” which is already a hit single. And she stars with Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo in “The Secret Life of Bees,” a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s award-winning novel of sisterhood and redemption. Jennifer is Rosaleen, a mother figure to Dakota in the South during the ’60s, when racial segregation was a hot-button issue.

Jennifer is grateful to AI for these breaks. She declared, “‘American Idol’ means a lot to me, clearly. If it weren’t for ‘Idol,’ the ‘Dreamgirls’ director and casting folks would have never known of a Jennifer Hudson. They wouldn’t have called me and said, ‘We want you to come out and audition for ‘Dreamgirls.’ There would be no ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ or ‘Sex in the City’ or anything like that for me. No Golden Globe or Academy Award for me, either. ‘American Idol’ is a great platform for a talent to be introduced to the world. If anything else, I felt as if I was already on the right path. ‘Idol’ just made the journey a little bit quicker.”

The belter reflected on her accomplishments: “I like to do things for the experience. That’s part of how I got here. That’s why I auditioned for ‘Idol.’ So that when I get older and have grandchildren, I can tell them, ‘I lived my youth. When I was 21, I was on ‘American Idol.’ When I was 22, I toured with the ‘Idol.’ When I was 24, I did ‘Dreamgirls.’ When I was 25, I won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Just to be able to say those things.”

Jennifer can add this story to her future grandkids: right on the day when she turned 27 on Sept. 12, 2008, she got engaged to Harvard-educated lawyer David Otunga, who is known as “Punk” in the VH1 reality show, “I Love New York 2.”

In Jennifer’s view, having legendary Clive Davis as her album producer is like winning another award. “Clive has always been my ultimate goal in music,” she said. “I was able to achieve something in film. Clive is like that in music — to be able to work with Clive and for him to oversee your project is a dream come true. He was responsible for Whitney Houston, for God’s sake. And Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin and many other greats. I would like to be among them one day. I may have a chance to do that. It’s an honor to work with Clive. He’s a genius at what he does.”

Of the CD itself, she explained, “This album gets to introduce Jennifer Hudson. Everyone knows me as Effie from ‘Dreamgirls,’ Louise from ‘Sex and the City’ and now Rosaleen. And the girl from ‘American Idol.’ But you don’t really have a sense of who I am as a person. I wanted to show my flexibility as a vocalist and on this album, there’s a great variety. We have pop and R&B songs. Because of ‘Dreamgirls,’ people seem to think that I’m much older. This album shows my youth. It gives a sense of who I am as a vocalist and as a person.”

“Make sure you listen to ‘Giving Myself Over to You’,” she told us. “That’s my favorite song in the album. I even have a gospel song, ‘Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There,’ that is my tribute to my late grandmother. I got my voice from my grandmother. She led over a hundred solos in our church choir. This is a song she used to perform in church so I decided to sing it as my inspirational song.” Other tracks include a duet with fellow AI alum Fantasia, songs featuring Ludacris and T-Pain and a ballad written by Diane Warren. Jennifer throws in her gut-wrenching “Dreamgirls” showstopper “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” for good measure.

True-life scene

As for the movie, which touches on the racial divide during that era, she shared her own experience with racism. “The only time I experienced racism was a long time ago,” she opened up. “I was maybe about 13. My family and I were on a road trip. We stopped at a McDonalds where we were the only black people. They kind of refused to serve us. They threw our food on the counter. It was cold. They didn’t warm it up. All they wanted was for us to leave. That racism experience was dead in my face.”

Jennifer and Dakota are cast mates again in the coming “Winged Creatures.” She said, “I play Cathy, who is Forest Whitaker’s daughter in the film. The film is set up like ‘Babel’ or ‘Crash’ where one person’s actions affect everyone. I’m on this search to find my lost father.”

With her booming singing voice, is she also aspiring to invade the stage? “To be honest, I love right where I am,” Jennifer confessed. “I would like to do theater later on. But first, I’m still learning the craft in this industry. It’s like I’m in film school and I’m still learning the ropes in everything I do.”

When asked which she prefers — singing or acting, Jennifer said, “I hope I never have to choose. I love them just the same. I’ve been singing ever since I was 7 years old. I just started acting which is a newfound love that I have a high respect for.” She playfully pleaded, “Please don’t make me choose between the two.”

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.