Audra McDonald on Why She Won't Sing Billie Holiday on Current Tour: 'It Would Feel Out of Context'

In an all-new interview shared today on The Hollywood Reporter, Audra McDonald reveals that she has no plans to perform songs from her recent Broadway show Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill for which she won a record sixth Tony Award for her portrayal of Billie Holiday.

"I only sing her as Billie, and I'm not quite ready to sing her as Audra yet," she reveals to THR. "It would feel like a novelty act and out of context. It feels like a parlor trick as opposed to paying homage to her in the right way."

McDonald also explains the connection she felt to the legendary jazz singer. "If she didn't have an emotional connection to a song, she wouldn't sing it," says McDonald of Holiday. "That's something I completely understand. I NEED TO KNOW why I'm singing the song, what the character's going through, what's happening, what do I want, what will singing the song bring me as a character, why am I singing."

The actress and singer also spoke about her experience portraying Mother Abbess on last year's broadcast of The Sound of Music Live!, on NBC. "It was an event and it got everybody focused on musical theater again for one night," notes McDonald. "It's not just AMERICAN IDOL and THE VOICE out there. We've got this, too. And this came first." She adds, "I think it was great for musical theater to get such a huge platform as a live event that we haven't seen in years," she continues. "I think it's just gotten into people's consciousness again. That in itself is a wonderful thing."

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McDonald recently received her 6th Tony Award for Best Performance by and Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her role as Billie Holiday in LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL. This year's Tony nomination marked her 8th and she now holds the record for most Tonys won by an actor, surpassing Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury with 5 TONY AWARDS each.

Winner of numerous Tony Awards® (Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun,The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess), Audra McDonald has also appeared on Broadway inThe Secret Garden, Marie Christine (Tony® nomination), Henry IV, and 110 in the Shade (Tony® nomination). A two-time Grammy® Award-winner, she has released five solo albums on Nonesuch.

On television, she was recently seen as "Mother Abbess" in NBC's THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE! and played "Dr. Naomi Bennett" on ABC's PRIVATE PRACTICE for four seasons. She has received Emmy® nominations for A Raisin in the Sun, Wit and her role as official host of PBS's Live From LINCOLN Center.

The Juilliard-trained soprano has also appeared on opera stages in Houston and LA and regularly performs with leading orchestras and in concerts with her own ensemble. Her film credits include She Got Problems, Best Thief in the World, It Runs in the Family, The Object of My Affection, Seven Servants and Rampart.