Audra McDonald-Led LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL to Get Live Recording; Release Set for 7/15

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Lanie Robertson's play with music, starring five-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, will be recorded live at Circle in the Square during a regularly scheduled performance during the week of May 27-31by PS Classics. The label has announced a July 15th street date; preorders are already being accepted at the label's website, www.psclassics.com.

The two-disc set will be produced by label co-founder Tommy Krasker, who previously helmed Ms. McDonald's first three solo albums. Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill continues Ms. McDonald's longstanding relationship with Mr. Krasker and PS Classics, following the label's Broadway cast recordings of 110 in the Shade and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, which began previews on March 25, 2014, opened on April 13, 2014, and is enjoying an extended run until August 10, 2014, recounts Holiday's life story through the songs that made her famous. In a small, intimate bar in 1959 Philadelphia, Holiday puts on a show that, unbeknownst to the audience, will leave them witnesses to one of the last performances of her lifetime. Through her poignant voice and moving songs, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time shares her loves and her losses.

Among the songs that are performed: "God Bless the Child," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Strange Fruit" and "Taint Nobody's Biz-ness."

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill is directed by frequent Ms. McDonald collaborator Lonny Price. The pair have been developing and working on Lanie Robertson's play with music for more than two years. The intimate setting of the Circle in the Square provides a unique theatrical experience, drawing audiences - especially those seated at the tables onstage - into the performance.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jessica Genick, and Will Trice, who are joined by Ronald Frankel, Rebecca Gold, Roger Berlind, Ken Greiner, Gabrielle Palitz, Irene Gandy and GFour Productions.