LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL with Audra McDonald Extends Through August 31

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Lanie Robertson's musical play which stars Audra McDonald who won a record breaking sixth Tony Award for her portrayal of jazz legend Billie Holiday, will extend its strictly limited engagement through August 31st, 2014.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill began performances at Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street, btwn. Broadway and 8th Avenue) on March 25th, 2014, and opened on April 13th, 2014. In addition to Audra McDonald's Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, the productions sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Play.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill recounts Holiday's life story through the songs that made her famous. 1959, in a small, intimate bar in 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 will be 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 Ms. McDonald's frequent 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.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill made its award-winning premiere with off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre in 1986.

Photo Credit: Evgenia Eliseeva