LADY DAY's Audra McDonald Wins Historic Tony for Best Lead Actress in a Play

Audra McDonald has just 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 McDonald's 8th. 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.

About the show:

Spend an evening filled with personal tales of difficult choices, bad breaks, worse men and some of the most glorious songs ever written, including "God Bless the Child," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Strange Fruit," and "Taint Nobody's Biz-ness." It's an intimate evening, up close with a legend.